Our Time (2018 film)

 

Written, directed, edited, and co-starring Carlos Reygadas, Nuestro Tiempo (Our Time) is the story of a couple’s open relationship coming apart while they raise bulls for bullfighting. The film is an exploration of a couple who run a ranch as their marriage starts to crumble due to the presence of a newcomer in an American horse trainer. Also starring Natalia Lopez, Phil Burgers, and Rut Reygadas. Nuestro Tiempo is a rapturous and unsettling film by Carlos Reygadas.

Set in rural Mexico, the film is an exploration of a couple’s open marriage falling apart where the husband copes with his wife’s growing interest towards an American horse trainer as that relationship is also falling apart. It is a film that does not have much of a plot as Carlos Reygadas explores a rich couple who runs a ranch where they raise bulls for bullfighting, starting to fall apart as the open relationship starts to crack. Reygadas’ script does not play into traditional narrative schematics in favor of something that builds slowly as it explores the life of Juan (Carlos Reygadas) and Ester (Natalia Lopez) who invited the American horse trainer Phil (Phil Burgers) to observe their bulls for bullfights. Ester is enamored with Phil as she goes to Mexico City with him where their relationship becomes serious with Juan coping with the fact that his open marriage to Ester is starting to crack as they also have children. The film would also feature voice-over narration from not just two of Juan and Ester’s children, but also through corresponding letters among the adults in this affair that is starting to unravel.

Reygadas’ direction is wondrous for its usage of space as it is shot on various locations in Mexico including parts of Mexico City. Shot in a 2:39:1 aspect ratio, Reygadas creates a film that is slow-building in its narrative where he employs a lot of long takes in his shots as well as a lack of stylized editing in favor of a straightforward approach to allow shots to linger for a few minutes. Even as it plays into the drama where Reygadas would use wide and medium shots to observe the drama as well as scenes in the ranch where Juan and Ester look over things. Notably a scene where a bull goes wild and gores a mule to death as it would set the tone for the chaos that would loom throughout the film.

Reygadas also use close-ups for scenes shot in a car as it has this claustrophobic feel to play into a marriage that is about to implode. Given the film’s near-3 hour running time as it also includes a few sex scenes as it play into Juan’s growing jealousy as he is forced to confront his own contradictions as it relates to the many fallacies of open marriages. Notably in the third act where Juan’s voyeuristic tendencies has many drawbacks while its ending that involves bulls is a metaphorical one that raises more questions than answers. Overall, Reygadas crafts a riveting and evocative film about the disintegration of an open marriage.

Cinematographers Diego Garcia and Adrian Durazo, with additional work by Daniel Valdes, do incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on natural lighting for many of the exteriors including some low-key lighting for some of the interior scenes in the day and night . Art director Emmanuel Picault does amazing work with the look of the home that Juan and Ester live filled with books and art work to play into a posh lifestyle. Costume designer Stephanie Brewster does excellent work in costumes as they are casual apart from the chaps and cowboy hats that Juan and other ranchers wear. Visual effects supervisor Diego Vazquez Lozano does terrific work with the visual effects for a few aerial scenes in Mexico City.

Sound designer Javier Umpierrez does phenomenal work with the sound in capturing the natural elements of the sound as well as how music sounds in a room or at a concert hall. The film’s music soundtrack features an array of classical pieces including one performed by an orchestra at a concert as well as music from an avant-garde Mexican performer who appears in the film and progressive rock music from Genesis and King Crimson.

The film’s wonderful ensemble cast largely consist of non-actors that includes Ernesto Vazquez as a farm boss, Blanca Villamil as the family maid/cook, Joaquin del Paso as a dying friend of Juan and Ester in Pablo, Maria Hagerman as Juanito’s girlfriend Lorena, Rut and Eleazar Reygadas in their respective roles as Juan and Ester’s younger kids in Lenora and Gaspar, and Yago Martinez as Juan and Ester’s teenage son Juanito who is experiencing first love as well as going to a boarding school outside of his life at the ranch. Phil Burgers is excellent as the American horse trainer Phil who befriends Juan and Ester where he is enamored with their relationship while enjoying a sexual relationship with Ester that has become complicated.

Carlos Reygadas is brilliant as Juan as a revered poet who runs a ranch as he becomes jealous of his wife’s affair with Phil where he delves into voyeuristic tendencies to the point that he starts to lose control of his emotions and his own need to control everything. Finally, there’s Natalia Lopez in an amazing performance as Ester as a woman whose affair with Phil has her raising questions about herself and her marriage where she starts to unravel as she wonders if she is being used while also realizing that the concept of open marriage has its faults.

Nuestro Tiempo is a spectacular film by Carlos Reygadas. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, intoxicating sound design, and a compelling study of an open marriage disintegrating. It is a film that is not easy to watch due to its methodically-slow pacing, lack of plot, and a near-3 hour running time that will not appeal to casual viewers. Yet, it is a film that does take its time to highlight a marriage that is on the verge of collapse due to decisions two people made at great risk in a style that requires patience and open interpretation. In the end, Nuestro Tiempo is a sensational film by Carlos Reygadas.

Carlos Reygadas Films: Japon - Battle in Heaven - Silent Light - Post Tenebras Lux - (Heil Jupiter!) – The Auteurs #32: Carlos Reygadas

© thevoid99 2026

The Auteurs #32: Carlos Reygadas

One of the key filmmakers to emerge in the Nuevo Cine Mexicano movement of the 1990s and early 2000s, Carlos Reygadas is among the number of filmmakers who brought a new light to the world of Mexico. Unlike his peers in Alfonso Cuaron, Guillermo del Toro, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu whose films have garnered a wider audience critically and commercially. Reygadas’ films tend to veer towards more abstract and cerebral themes of alienation and spirituality as he also focuses on individuals and character who are outsiders in his native Mexico. Especially as he infuses a more European influence in his stories that makes him standout from his fellow Mexican filmmakers. Particularly as his films would have polarizing opinions from audiences and critics as he has no interest in making films for commercial reasons but rather for personal reasons.

Born on October 10, 1971 in Mexico City, Mexico, Reygadas came from a different background that was more upper-class as it would later allow him to attend the prestigious Mount St. Mary’s College in Derbyshire in Britain. During his time as a student at the university where he was studying law, Reygadas discovered the world of European cinema through such diverse filmmakers as Andrei Tarkovsky, Robert Bresson, and Michelangelo Antonioni. These three filmmakers would influence the ideas that Reygadas would have in the world of film though he would still have time to study law. While working as a lawyer in London as part of the United Nations for armed conflicts, Reygadas also sought out his interest in the world of cinema as it began with a 1999 short called Prisioneros that was partially funded by his work in Belgium as it would be one of a few shorts he would submit to the Rotterdam Film Festival.

More can be read here at Cinema Axis.

© thevoid99 2014

Post Tenebras Lux

Written and directed by Carlos Reygadas, Post Tenebras Lux (Light After Darkness) is the story of a posh Mexican family who live in rural surroundings as a man deals with his environment and class status. The film is an exploration into a group of people who are part of a certain world yet have desires and such that would have them removed from the people they‘re surrounded by. Starring Adolfo Jiminez Castro, Nathalia Acevedo, Willebado Torres, Rut Reygadas, and Eleazar Reygadas. Post Tenebras Lux is a haunting and mesmerizing film from Carlos Reygadas.

The film is an impressionistic story revolving around a New Age architect and his family who live in rural Mexico in a posh home where they have poor/working class men working for them. Yet, it’s a film that doesn’t play into any kind of traditional narrative as it’s mostly non-linear where Juan (Aldofo Jiminez Castro) deals with his own status as he reflects on his life as he also thinks about what he wants for his family. Juan is a man troubled by his own desires as well as he seeks help but he would deal with his own issues as it relates to what he wants for his family as well as the people he meets who aren’t rich as some are envious of his status. The film’s script doesn’t play into any kind of traditional narrative in order to make it a film about memories and fantasies as there’s also elements of surrealism that comes into play.

Carlos Reygadas’ direction is entrancing not just for the imagery that he conveys in its 1:37:1 full-frame aspect ratio. It’s also for the dream-like quality that he creates as many of the film’s exterior setting has these very impressionistic yet crystallized blurs around the frame with the middle of it being very clear. It’s among the many aspects of the film that is so unique not just in the way many of these exterior settings are presented but also a world that seems to be removed from reality or fantasy as Reygadas would shoot the film with these long hand-held and steadicam tracking shots for its opening sequence. Much of the film’s interior settings is shot without these impressionistic edges in order to present a blur with reality and fantasy. Two of these sequences involve a Christmas dinner and a strange sequence at a spa play into this idea of fantasy that Juan wants.

The latter of which involve Juan and his wife Nathalia (Nathalia Acevedo) watching people having orgies in spas as it would play into the sexual frustrations that Juan deals with. Particularly in an earlier scene where he talks to one of his workers about that as it adds to that blur between reality and fiction. Much of the film is set in rural Mexico in its forests filled with beautiful trees and such while there’s a few scenes set in Europe to play into Juan’s posh background and the disconnect he has with rural Mexicans. The film’s climax not only involve what Juan has suffered through but also the strange connection he would have with one of his workers as it would play into the idea of faith and redemption. Overall, Reygadas crafts a very exotic yet chilling film about fantasies and its collision with reality.

Cinematographer Alexis Zabe does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography from the ethereal colors of the Mexican exteriors in the forest and mountains to the rich look of the interiors with its low-key lighting and lush imagery. Editor Natalia Lopez does excellent work with its editing as it‘s mostly straightforward yet methodical as it doesn‘t play to conventional ideas of editing. Production designer Geraldo Tagle and art director Nohemi Gonzalez do fantastic work with the look of the house that Juan and his family live in as well as the poor home some of his workers live at.

Visual effects supervisors Rodrigo Echevarria and Juan Manuel Nogales do superb work with the film‘s minimal visual effects such as the blurred edges of the camera as well as the mysterious red devil that appears in one major sequence of the film that plays to its surrealism. Sound designer Sergio Diaz does brilliant work with the sound work from the calm atmosphere of the forest to some of the raucous sounds in the parties and such that the characters encounter while much of the music in the film is played on location as it mostly features traditional Mexican music as well as a cover of a Neil Young song performed by one of the characters.

The film’s incredible cast includes some notable small roles from Jose Alberto Sanchez as Juan’s head worker El Jarro, Suemi Valderrama as Siete’s wife Samanta, and Willebado Torres as Juan’s worker Siete who becomes envious of Juan’s richness. Rut and Eleazar Reygadas are wonderful as Juan and Nathalia’s kids as they play into the sense of innocence that is in Juan’s complicated world. Nathalia Avecedo is amazing as Nathalia as a woman who tries to deal with Juan’s sudden detachment as well as the world she encounters that includes the chilling spa sequence. Finally, there’s Adolfo Jiminez Castro in a phenomenal performance as Juan as this rich architect who deals with his own desires and what he wants for his family as well as his disconnect with the people he’s surrounded by as well as his wife which leads to his own sexual frustrations as it’s a very haunting performance.

Post Tenebras Lux is a marvelous film from Carlos Reygadas. While it’s definitely not an easy film to watch due to its unconventional storyline and impressionistic images. It’s still a film that plays into the world of what men want in the world but also the disconnect they would have with their own surroundings. In the end, Post Tenebras Lux is a ravishing yet cerebral film from Carlos Reygadas.

Carlos Reygadas Films: Japon - Battle in Heaven - Silent Light - Our Time (2018 film) - (Heil Jupiter!) - The Auteurs #32: Carlos Reygadas

© thevoid99 2014

2013 Cannes Marathon: Japon

(Special Mention of the Camera d’Or Prize at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Carlos Reygadas, Japon is the story of a suicidal man who leaves Mexico City to go to the country looking for serenity as he bonds with an aging widow. The film is an exploration into the world of humanity and a man’s desire to find meaning in his life in a remote canyon in Mexico just as he is reaching his bottom. Starring Alejandro Ferretis, Magdalena Flores, and Yolanda Villa. Japon is an exhilarating yet visceral film from Carlos Reygadas.

The film is a story that follows a painter (Alejandro Ferretis) who travels to a remote part of the Mexican countryside to live in a remote village to kill himself. By living with this aging widow named Ascen (Magdalena Flores), the two bond as they deal with her nephew Juan Luis (Martin Serrano) who is eager to take stones away from her farm. While this man is dealing with his own issues, he tries to help out the old widow as she tries to help him as well. It’s all part of a world in which two people connect as they’re both going through aging as well as deal with things they couldn’t understand.

Reygadas’ script isn’t very conventional nor does it have any strong plot but rather be a study into the world of humanity as this old woman offers to serve this man though he doesn’t want her to do too much. Yet, they talk as the man is friendly with the locals as he sees this very unique world that isn’t filled with complications in relation to the world of the city. Particularly as there’s children playing around and see this like a horse having sex or people getting drunk at a local bar. It’s part of the world that Reygadas is creating in his script as he doesn’t use a lot of dialogue or plot-points to tell the story.

The direction has Reygadas presented is a film that is simple in its 16mm form but the compositions that he creates are just spellbinding. He lets the location be just as important as everything else in the film including images of animals being killed along with some very chilling scenes that play to the world of death. There are things that are played out naturally but also has the camera gazing at the locations and its people to showcase the majestic images of this land. There are also some religious imagery that plays out as it relates to Ascen while the desolate landscape is more about the man and his sense of loss.

The direction is also very stylized as well as quite confrontational though there are a few moments where it can meander. Notably as it features a lot of long shots that can go on for minutes to let things just play out naturally. Still, there is something in the film’s final sequence where Reygadas’ direction is just stunning in the way he unveils this final moment that is just truly mesmerizing. Overall, Reygadas crafts a very powerful and captivating film about humanity.

Cinematographers Diego Martinez Vignatti and Thierry Tronchet do excellent work with the film‘s grainy yet beautiful cinematography to play out some of the naturalistic images of the locations. Editors Daniel Melguizo, Carlos Serrano Azcona, and David Torres do amazing work with the film‘s stylized editing with the use of jump-cuts and dissolves to help play out its sense of improvisation and drama. Production designers Elsa Diaz and Alejandro Reygadas do terrific work with the set pieces from the look of Ascen‘s home and farm to present a world that is simple. The sound work of Gilles Laurent and Ramon Moreira do brilliant work with the sound with the atmosphere created in the locations to give something that is naturalistic. The film’s soundtrack consists largely of classical music from Johann Sebastian Bach, Avro Part, and Dmitri Shostakovich.

The film’s cast largely consists of non-actors to help play out the sense of realism as it includes some small roles from Rolando Hernandez as the local judge, Yolanda Villa as Ascen’s friend Sabina, and Martin Serrano as Ascen’s greedy nephew Juan Luis. The best performances definitely go to Magdalena Flores as Ascen and Alejandro Ferretis as the unnamed painter where the two bring out a sense of realism to their performance that isn’t overly dramatic while showcasing two people dealing with an ever-changing world.

Japon is riveting film from Carlos Reygadas. The film is definitely one of the most startling debut films to ever come out while it presents a world that is truly engrossing while featuring performances that feels authentic. In the end, Japon is a remarkable film from Carlos Reygadas.

Carlos Reygadas Films: Battle in Heaven - Silent Light - Post Tenebras Lux - Our Time (2018 film) - (Heil Jupiter!) - The Auteurs #32: Carlos Reygadas

© thevoid99 2013

2012 Cannes Marathon: Silent Light

(Co-Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Carlos Reygadas, Luz silenciosa (Silent Light) is the story of a married man who falls for another woman at the Mennonite community in Northern Mexico. The film explores the world of the Mennonite community in Mexico that is a mixture of different nationalities that includes German and Canadian. Starring Elizabeth Fehr, Jacobo Klassen, Maria Pankratz, Miriam Towes, and Cornelio Wall. Luz silenciosa is a ravishing yet magnificent film from Carlos Reygadas.

Confused by his actions, Johan (Cornelio Wall) is a farmer with a wife named Esther (Miriam Towes) and several children as he is also in love and having an affair with another woman named Marianne (Maria Pankratz). After telling his friend Zacarias (Jacobo Klassen) and later his father (Peter Wall) about the affair. His father would reveal something to Johan about his own bout with temptation as he promises not to tell Johan’s mother (Elizabeth Fehr) about the affair. During a day where he’s harvesting corn with Esther and their children, Marianne makes a visit needing help where the two eventually have sex. Still, Johan is torn in his love for two women as a trip with Esther would create an event that would test Johan’s faith.

The film is essentially an exploration into the life of a farmer as he is torn between two women and is ravaged with guilt over what he’s doing to them as he seeks answers. That’s essentially the story of the film as its lack of conventional plot allows its writer/director Carlos Reygadas to delve into this man’s guilt as he is often surrounded by family and friends while he also has a mistress that nearly everyone in his circle knows about. Yet, he tries to deal with it the best way he can though he knows what he’s doing is wrong. The script allows the character of Johan to be a man who isn’t totally a bad man but one that is just lost in this extramarital affair where he is hurting both his wife and mistress.

The film’s direction is truly hypnotic from the way it opens and closes in the same location of how a day begin and ends. For about five minutes, it shows how night becomes dawn as it then cuts to this family having breakfast where it’s just about a family beginning the day with prayer and getting ready for what is ahead. It’s a very silent yet mesmerizing scene where the camera looks at the family but the person that is in focus is Johan since he’s the head. What happens afterwards is that while the entire family leaves for the day, Johan remains in his chair. Usually, the role would be for the man of the house that would lead things but not in this film. It’s because Reygadas is interested in this man that is essentially falling apart due to his guilt.

There’s a lot of long sequences and wandering shots where things do zoom in quite slowly to see what is happening. The only bits of shakiness in the camera is when it’s in some intimate moments such as Johan walking through the fields to meet with Marianne or having a wonderful moment with his family at a nearby pool. Still, the camera is often looking afar or just playing to see what the characters are seeing. Since the film takes place in a remote community in the middle of Mexico. The film has the characters speaking in a very different variation of German called Plautdietsch to interact with one another in this community as they also speak bits of English and Spanish when they travel outside of that world. Since these locations of mountains, farmland, and hills add to the exotic world of Mexico. It does feel like a very different world where at one point, there’s a scene with snow where it seems like the story takes place in a matter of months.

While a film with no traditional plot with a lot of long scenes and slow rhythm is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Reygadas however manages to find a way to not linger on a scene too long while he takes his time to let a scene play out. Notably in the film’s third act when Johan and Esther take this trip that would lead to this very poignant yet very entrancing sequence that plays to some of the film’s religious elements. The camera maintains an understated quality to these compositions where Reygadas is concerned with Johan and all of these people around him. Overall, Reygadas creates what is truly an incredible and visually-stunning film about faith and guilt.

Cinematographer Alexis Zabe does an amazing job with the film‘s entrancing photography that is filled with gorgeous scenery of the Mexican hills and landscapes as well as the beautiful scenes in the snow and in the rain as some of it recalls the beauty of the films of Terrence Malick. Editor Natalia Lopez does nice work with the editing as it’s mostly straightforward in its cutting while maintaining a methodical pace for the film. Production designer Gerardo Tagle and art director Nohemi Gonzalez do superb work with the set pieces created such as the home of Johan‘s family to the van that a friend of Johan enters where his kids watch a footage of Jacques Brel singing.

The film’s big technical highlight is its sound courtesy of its sound editors Martin Hernandez and Sergio Diaz. The sound work is truly one-of-a-kind for the way Hernandez and Diaz create an atmosphere in many of the film’s exterior locations while utilizing a more sparse mix for the way shoes touch the ground or the clanging of objects. There’s very little music heard in the film other than a religious chant and a country song that is playing in the background. The sound is much broader for the chilling scenes in the rain as well as the film’s climatic sequence towards the end for the way it is low-key and intimate as it’s truly sound work at its best.

The film’s ensemble cast is excellent for what is assembled as it features largely non-professional actors as the children and extras were selected from real Mennonite communities. Among the standouts include Elizabeth Fehr as Johan’s mother, Peter Wall as Johan’s preacher/farmer father, and Jacobo Klassen as Johan’s friend Zacarias. Maria Prankratz is wonderful as Johan’s longing mistress Marianne who tries to deal with the situation that is happening while Miriam Towes is great as the more low-key yet tormented Esther who is trying to deal with her husband’s guilt. Finally, there’s Cornelio Wall as the troubled Johan as Wall brings a quiet realism to his role as a man torn by his love for two women as he seeks answers for what he needs to do in this marvelous performance.

Luz silenciosa is a remarkable and extremely haunting film from Carlos Reygadas. Armed with a terrific ensemble cast of unknowns and amazing technical work, the film definitely stands as one of the most chilling portrayals of guilt in the world of adultery and faith. While it is not for everyone, it is still a film that revels into a world that few people know in these unique religious communities as well as following someone who is human and tries to be good. In the end, Luz silenciosa is an enthralling yet intoxicating film from Carlos Reygadas.

Carlos Reygadas Films: Japon - Battle in Heaven - Post Tenebras Lux - Our Time (2018 film) - (Heil Jupiter!) - The Auteurs #32: Carlos Reygadas

© thevoid99 2012

2011 Cannes Marathon: Battle in Heaven

(Premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival in Competition for the Palme D’or)

Written and directed by Carlos Reygadas, Batalla en el cielo (Battle in Heaven) tells the story of a working class man whose life is unraveling after a failed kidnapping plot.  Despondent, he meets the boss’ daughter whom he had known since she was a child as she helps him deal with his own issues along with wife who is suffering from illness.  Starring Marcos Hernandez, Anapola Mushkadiz, and Berta Ruiz.  Batalla en el cielo is an eerie yet mesmerizing film from Carlos Reygadas.

After the failure of a kidnapping plot gone wrong, a working-class named Marcos (Marcos Hernandez) is haunted by the actions he took to get a ransom and its failure.  With his wife Berta (Berta Ruiz) trying to make a living selling clocks and cakes at a subway, Marcos leaves to pick up his boss’ daughter Ana (Anapola Mushkadiz).  On her way to pick her up, his glasses get shattered by the crowded people at the subway as he eventually meets her as he drives her home.  Yet, his state of mind over what’s happened leads him to drive Ana to the boutique that she works at where she’s a prostitute.  Marcos sees the place where he couldn’t do anything with another client as he wants Ana as he tells her what he’s done.

After telling Berta what he told Ana, Berta reveals that he must make sure that Ana doesn’t say anything to the police.  When he visits Ana, she isn’t happy about his visit as she takes him to her place where they would have sex.  Marcos would find his sexual liaison with Ana as a way to cope with his feelings while he ponders on what he should do.  Even as a pilgrimage for the Lady of Guadalupe is happening where Marcos, Berta, their son Irving, and some friends go to the countryside where Marcos reveals his plans to Berta.  Following a trek through the countryside, Marcos visits Ana again where the meeting leads to an emotional and mental breakdown.

What happens to a working-class man whose life isn’t going well with a wife who is ill while resorting to do something for money and fails?  Well, that’s what Carlos Reygadas is asking in his sophomore feature about a man experiencing a spiritual and emotional crisis following a failed kidnapping plot for money.  Yet, the film is a character study of sorts as Reygadas follows Marcos for three days in his life following the failed kidnapping.  Yet, the film opens with a fantasy of sequence of Marcos getting a blow-job from Ana as it plays to Marcos’ idea of heaven.

Given the circumstances he is dealing with, Marcos is forced to deal with the realities he lives with as he starts off each day as a security guard watching soldiers hoist the large Mexican flag that starts off the day.  It’s part of his routine while his relationship with Berta, a loving one, is complicated as she is trying to keep things together while wanting to make sure that her family is safe.  While she knows what they did is wrong, she is trying to figure out what to do though she’s unaware of Marcos’ deteriorating state of mind.  Then there’s Ana, a young woman who Marcos knew since she was a kid as he is also her father’s driver.  He also knows that she’s a prostitute as he confides in her to keep the secret which would lead to complications with his own marriage to Berta.

Reygadas script also allows the film to give a bit of social commentary as Marcos would always see the things rich people would do that includes a reckless moment where two young spoiled boys would urinate into the trunk of a car.  Even at one point, he would have similar feelings to seeing people of his class status in their own activities or the way he reacts towards the pilgrimage that is happening.  There is a lot happening though the script is very loose since there is very little plot that is happening throughout.

Reygadas’ direction is definitely intriguing to watch in not just the way he presents Mexico City in all of beauty but also urban areas.  It’s also the way he presents sex in the film which is very explicit but also in ways that casual audiences will have a hard time watching.  Since he’s using non-professional actors, particularly those who are overweight or don’t have the traditional body that people want to see having sex.  It creates an element of shock to see two fat people having sex and quite explicitly while the idea of a beautiful young woman in Ana having sex with Marcos is also shocking.  Even as there’s a bit of penetration shown along with close-ups of their respective genitals.

Throughout part of Reygadas’ direction, there is a chance for the director to show Mexico as it is to display Marcos’ sense of isolation throughout the film.  While at times, it comes off as a bit pretentious during scenes where something is happening with the main character.  In other places, it allows the audience to figure what Marcos is watching including a great sequence of the pilgrimage as the camera is at the center of everything.  Despite a few flaws in its story and the sense of discomfort it brings in places, Reygadas creates something that is unique and daring with this film.

Cinematographer Diego Martinez Vignatti does an excellent job with the film’s camera work in creating a look that is very realistic.  Notably in creating mesmerizing shots to display the wondrous world of Mexico City along with Mexican countryside that is truly some of the best shots of the film.  Even as Vignatti does a lot of the camera operating with tracking shots and hand-held cameras to create some dazzling camera work for the film.  In the editing, Reygadas, along with editors Adoracion G. Elipe, Benjamin Mirguet, and Nicolas Schmerkin, does a pretty good job with the editing in creating a leisured pace throughout the entirety of the film along with some jump-cuts for some of the driving scenes in the film.

Art directors Elsa Ruiz and Daniela Schneider do a nice job with the look of the film from the upper-class world that Ana lives in along with her spacious apartment to the claustrophobic world that Marcos and his family live in.  Sound designers Martin Hernandez and Sergio Diaz do a phenomenal job with the sound work to create an atmosphere for the film for many scenes at the pilgrimage or inside the subway as it’s the film’s real technical highlight.  The film’s score by John Tavener is wonderful as there isn’t a lot of music played in the film.  Tavener’s score appears in the opening and closing moments of the film to capture the sense of loss that’s permeated in the film while the rest of the soundtrack features traditional Mexican music, classical, and Mexican hip-hop.

The casting is another of the film’s highlights as Reygadas employs a lot of non-professional or non-actors to fill in the roles to give it a realistic film.  Among the standouts in small roles include Alejandro Mayar as a police inspector and David Bornstein as Ana’s boyfriend.  Berta Ruiz is very good as Marcos’ wife Berta who tries to deal with what had just happened along with Marcos’ troubled state of mind.  Anapola Mushkadiz is superb as Ana, the young woman whom Marcos tell what happens as she tries to help by basically having sex with him while guiding him about what to do.  Finally, there’s Marcos Hernandez who is great as Marcos.  Hernandez’s performance is another of the film’s highlight as he brings a restraint to his performance as a man troubled by his actions and lost in his surroundings hoping for redemption.

Batalla en el cielo is a stellar yet gritty film from Carlos Reygadas.  Fans of the 2000s new wave of Mexican Cinema will see this as an intriguing film that follows a man’s descent from grace as he’s caught in a very complicated world.  While it may not have the visual splendor of his fellow Mexican filmmakers like Alfonso Cuaron or Guillermo del Toro.  Reygadas creates a film that is definitely engaging about class and sex in ways that is very confrontational without being overbearing.  In the end, Batalla en el cielo is an intriguing film from Carlos Reygadas.

Carlos Reygadas Films: Japon - Silent Light - Post Tenebras Lux - Our Time (2018 film) - (Heil Jupiter!) - The Auteurs #32: Carlos Reygadas

© thevoid99 2011