Post Tenebras Lux

It'd be fairly easy to fall prey to the impeccability and preciousness of the imagery here presented. This was projected at Cannes after all.

The main objective of the filmmaker seems to be to show a very rigid set of moralities, interpretation which he disowns, he blames any interpretation to the spectator. As if the kuleshov effect didn't exist and juxtaposition of images wasn't a well studied science.

For example, he presents a group of educated white people talking about ideas and auteurs, against a group of non-white uneducated people just getting wasted and exposed; this is a great moment to remember that there wasn't a single professional actor in this film.

There's for me an overall feeling of misery impregnating all aspects of this production, first the misery of white empty people showing off for an speck of intellectual appreciation, then the misery of people living in poverty and being filmed to make a tall tale about the inherent savageness of the human race and it's direct correlation to the privilege one has. But the most miserable man is not the filmmaker who in its own account would deserve a hat, and even maybe a chair. No, the most miserable person in this transaction is the spectator. Especially the one who was taken on a date with someone who had already watched the film. This spectator that slowly descended into the realisation that his date was an insufferable and pseudointellectual snob who pretended to enjoy such demonstrations of misery in cinema, and actually considered that it has an honest element of artistry. Someone who he thought highly of, just getting crushed under the desperate attempt of Reygadas to make something remotely trascendental, just to be blocked on every social media platform after that. Very inconvenient and uncomfortable situation due to them already living together. Poor, poor soul.

This is my opinion, the movie is garbage. No one can like this movie genuinely, this is no one's favourite movie. Anyone who says to like this either is Reygadas family or is pretending and will flip at the slightest sign of pressure. I will die on this hill.

In fact, I challenge anyone who is willing to defend this film to a fight-to-death.

I'll be in the fountain at London Square every Friday at 3pm.

Edit: As to april 2022 no one has shown. This is only further proving my point. This is no one's favourite movie, no one would even take a punch for this movie, hell, they wouldn't even take a chance.

After the dark, light.

This is the nearest translation of this highly tentative piece of cinema whose story involves Mexican urban life, a couple in a whorehouse, a British rugby match with a guest appearance of devil himself.

At the epicentre a man and his family. On the surface he has it all; a nice house, a beautiful wife and two healthy adorable kids. Beneath that, not all that shines is gold as he struggles with addiction and needs pornography to inspire spousal intimacy.

Unfortunately and despite the high dose of creative filming the above is the only cohesive bit in this film. The added layers that aspire to connect to the title by juxtaposition of moments of light and darkness drove the film onto a one way street with lights out.

A very mixed experience

I stopped watching this film less than 10 minutes in after the scene of an idiot beating mercilessly a young dog, not necessary, gratuitous, does nothing to validate whatever else is good, if anything, about this film or all the positive reviews it has garnered. This just shows the insensitivity of this director and introduces an irredeemable flaw to his work. Also, other hugely annoying things within these first ten minutes were the stupid portrayal of a very young girl left seemingly alone in a field with a pack of large dogs, including what looked like one of the most idiotic dogs alive and which any vaguely intelligent country would ban (the UK has, the US tolerates and encourages them, but then again the US voted for an empty-headed moron for its president), ie a pitbull plus German Shepherds, which any sensitive person would be concerned over for the child's safety. And to let this pack of dogs harass cows and horses or mules is again a demonstration, albeit a film, of stupidity. Also hugely annoying was the antiquated format of the film, and the ridiculous distortion of the edges of the film's frame as though it's trying to emulate that of a smartphone video. I've deleted this film from my collection and will approach Reygadas's other films I have with scepticism.

An urban family, having moved to the countryside of Mexico, experiences raw drama and ambiguous fantasy in this cinematically fresh and rewarding film by Reygadas. The cinematography is ethereal and at times haunting when combined with such unsettling imagery. That's not to say the films imagery is horrifying in itself. The imagery of Post Tenebras Lux is unsettling in that it's picturesque and lush while also being new and confounding. This is partially due to it's hypnotic, almost tunnel vision take on the 4:3 ratio. This way of presenting the story only adds to it's mysterious nature. The narrative in itself is overtly expressionist as it's partial auto-biographical and moves with fluidity removed from reasoning. It's a film that's entrancing and bewildering at the same time - an atmosphere that just seems to work. It certainly worked to make one of the most original films of the year.

All the reviewers that superficially reacted to this film as just another self-indulgent art house ego trip made me laugh. I despise and ridicule art house pretension as much as anyone. But that's not what this film is. I'm not going to bother adding my insights and interpretations to the heap, you can do that on your own. And that's the point, if you can have a mind to make your own connections and formulate your own ideas, you should have no problems with PTL. Rich photography with shots that linger long enough to actually absorb them. A refreshing lack of the usual gimmicks: moving close-ups, romantic schmaltz and tearful, blubbering melodrama. The story is self-contained and original; the characters genuine and authentic; the style minimalist yet mesmerizing. Attributes sorely lacking in Hollywood and contemporary cinema in general. And Natalia's rendition of 'it's a dream' near the end was moving and impactful. Unlike anything that whining, glass shattering ol' hack Neil Young ever did. Not going to say it's perfect, but we need more like this.