Nuestro tiempo

Carlos Reygadas has become one of the greatest film-makers of our time. All his films have been great works, but this is his first masterpiece, exploring most of the same central themes of marriage, fidelity, infidelity and ranching that his two previous films ('Silent Light' and 'Post Tenebras Lux') have, but with more coherence and focus than 'Post Tenebras Lux', and more depth than either of them.

Nothing about movies engages me as much as masterful cinematography, and I've encountered very, very few directors whose cameras have awed me with their grace, uniquity and creativity as much as Reygadas has with his more recent works. The visual texture of the Digital Cinema Package format is definitely a hindrance, but this is easily the most visually astounding film I've ever seen made with it. Over and over and over again, I found myself asking 'How in the hell does this man DO it?'

All been said before, right, especially as regards adultery in the cultured classes?

Not with Reygadas. Here's a man who's really prepared to give the genres a nudge, really has the chops to pull it off.

Starting with no intro, and seemingly innocent scenes of kids playing at a lake, Reygadas carries 170 stylish minutes better than most directors carry 90.

There is a narrative arc, but Our Time deliberately operates at its edges. Characters argue off screen. Husband writes to wife. Does same, to wife's lover. Daughter comes on, for a couple of voice-overs. There's horse- and cow-play aplenty, often bearing a jagged relation to what's going down with the humans.

Reygadas still needs his get-out-of-jail card, to take the movie to the next level. This arrives with a late detonation, when the husband visits a dying friend.

As a full on movie addict, it's a surprise to feel sudden tears, in real time. This did it for me. One to remember.

Masterpiece. Dark. But amazing. Reygadas as always plays with the language of film.

Carlos Reygadas's cinema is one of meticulous observation and grandiose revelations. Casting himself and his real-life wife, the Mexican auteur boldly explores with spellbinding visuals the dark corners of relationships, dissecting patriarchy along the way. A domestic drama of majestic proportions.

The theme and its treatment are a bit 1966 age: free love and open couples, with the underlying condition that everybody can "experience" others sexually, since real and deep love is between man and wife.

But... When arrives a Phil, that can actually push off former "love", problems arise, and hausband get jealous.

But he's not fihgting with physical strenght, like the bulls he breeds; he accuses instead his friend of being unloyal... but actually Carlos at the beginning was not angry of his wife having sex with Phil.

So the story is pretty confused, while dialogues have parts of cold logic, to unfold and manage the situation.

In substance, the bottom line could be that Carlos wants to be sure that he is loved, and for that, he pushes his wife in bed with other men, checking out if she still loves him... It has to said that images are very intriguing, camera, mouvements and all visual aspects are very fine.

... a decent enough film... she's very-enticing-alluring... Our Time (Nuestro Tiempo) a saga-length-movie that's not an epic story... just a very long tale about pitfalls of one-open-relationship failing-marriage... very pretty looking, once you adjust to looking at various scenes for long stretches of time (much-lengthy-drone-footage, at times narrated)... films from creators that embody in their personal lives lots of what's in their work, somewhat mirroring their own lives are interesting... here this husband and wife team are portraying another husband and wife couple on a large Mexican ranch, and as so happens, it is 'their' ranch... there are lots of parts to this film.. scenes to be watched again independent of the entire movie, and they lose little of their influence

... so the story goes... the couple have three children, lots of help (appearing wealthy, he's a well known-established poet), and are partaking in an 'open' relationship, both having sex with others... yet in the film, we only see her with other men, not him with anyone... he's more the conspirator-voyeur as it pertains to her sex life... we don't even ever see them having sex together, (getting impression she's past that aspect of their relationship)... he speaks with the men, arranging for them to hook-up with her, and when possible he watches, or gets-insisting-on details from her regarding her sexual-encounters, then at times berates her for what naturally occurs during these-arranged-hookups... a very fancy (did mention lengthy, right) troubled-marriage-drama

... trouble arising, once she 'engages' with one of the ranch-hands (a 'gringo').. after having a hot-mid-afternoon-tryst with him, once returning home, without informing her husband (he found-out) .. seems they have an 'agreement-to-tell' each-other all... from there-on, it's all him confronting-her, being jealous-possessive, and her pushing away from him, because of his controlling-nature... fed up with his obsessions, she mostly desires being increasingly-distant from him... she knows she's better than any of them, and wants her independence to be free from all these conniving-controlling-men... is she in 'love' with this neighbor-rancher, could be.. after all she had fallen-hard in love with her husband, when he was then married, 15 years ago... with this new lover now also married, maybe she's just doing it over again to another man's wife

... very well acted, and produced, Natalia Lopez stands-out, enticing-throughout... it is half-hour/more too-lengthy, where scenes linger, and you find yourself asking when are they going to be over... anyway, it is one of those 'creative' works where reading several critics-reviews can be helpful... and once you have, another watch of the film could-should be in order, to get an expanded-more-informed vision of this work... is it a "masterpiece"... yes'es and no's are aplenty.

... best scene: ... when her lover along with his wife visit their ranch one evening, and her husband after convincing-insisting that she goes off to have sex with him... he then sneaks over to the casita they're in.. peeking through the windows watching them kiss-fondle-hookup, he then goes inside, standing at foot of the bed they're sharing... his wife wrapped arm-leg over the man's-torso, her head nestled on his chest, sharing an after-sex cigarette... neither of the naked-pair showing-having any concern-reaction towards the intruding-husband in the least... thus, entirely-encapsulating-all, regarding the completely-eroded-state of their-ending-marriage

.