Japón

Dir. Carlos Reygadas, 2002. 134 mins. Restored DCP courtesy of Janus Films. With Alejandro Ferretis, Magdalena Flores. Carlos Reygadas’ first feature feels more like the work of a seasoned master than that of a 30 year-old newcomer, though it’s undergirded by an ethos of taboo-busting provocation. A man (Ferretis) travels from Mexico City to an isolated village to commit suicide. Once there, however, he meets a pious elderly woman (Flores) whose quiet humanity incites a reawakening of his desires. Working with a cast of non-actors (a practice he has continued throughout his career), Reygadas uses a 16mm CinemaScope camera to explore the rugged beauty of the Mexican countryside along with the unadorned bodies and desires of his characters, creating a singular work that’s simultaneously profoundly existential and intensely tactile. “Bracingly, even abrasively sensual. The director seems to want to push through the barriers that separate sight from the other senses: even on screen the washed-out, metallic light seems to have a temperature and a taste. [A] brazenly confident first film.” – A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Preceded by Maxhumain (1999, 7 mins), in which a man considering taking his own life on a beach flashes back to a childhood conversation with his mother about suicide.

Tickets: $15 ($11 seniors and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free for children under 3 and Museum members at the Film Lover and Kids Premium levels and above). Order tickets online.(Members may contact [email protected] with questions regarding online reservations.)

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