Cinema: Carlos Reygadas' "Japón"

"Japón" was Mexico’s Carlos Reygadas' astonishing debut film which has nothing to do directly with Japan as the title might suggest, but which comes from the rising-sun symbol associated with Japan rising again every day and renewing itself, and other references from Japan maybe (the elegant harakiri, the respect for the elderly). Although this link is not easily made at first glance...

It was an ambitious and promising first film, an enigmatic parable, a meditation on life, death, faith and redemption. Actually it is somehow 'religious', one could say... A (supposedly) painter from the big city who is tired of life (and disabled) goes to a remote canyon in the north of Mexico to end his life. To reach some quietness he stays at the house of Ascensión, an old religious woman, outside a village, nestled in the canyon. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he gets to know Ascensión and gets in touch with the powerful nature. He slowly rediscovers, through mixed unexpected emotions, the lust for life. Particularly strong is the sex/love scene, as the means for emotional redemption…

Beautifully shot, "Japón" is not a narrative film, it’s a film of long silences and slow rhythm (sometimes a bit too long…) yet measured, a film of few words, strong landscapes and panoramic images, strong rough moments, carefully chosen sounds and music. Nature and the landscapes are like characters, part of the story. The characters themselves are vague and their actions do not always make sense. The film is full of surprises and definitely has a strong lyrical and poetic power that make it a beautiful feast to the senses. It is performed by many non professional actors, by actor Alejandro Ferretis as the main character and Magdalena Flores, the villager who plays the old woman. Unfortunately, Ferretis and his companion Francisco Javier Vega, would be murdered in April 2004 in the residence of the actor in San Miguel de Allende, some 200 km north of Mexico City. According to one of the close relations of Ferretis, "the two men were atrociously massacred, with a hammer or a bar of iron. A true butchery. Unthinkable".

Carlos Reygadas's film caused a considerable stir at the Cannes film festival and has received many awards, namely a special Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film, best film at the Bratislava film festival, New director’s award at Edinburgh festival, audience choice award at Stockholm, etc…

Japón may be frustrating or boring for many people and is certainly not an easy film, with its slow pace and long silences, yet it is uncomfortably difficult to forget it and I believe that hardly anyone can remain indifferent to the film’s beauty, its amazing landscapes and their strength...

As the newspaper Le Monde wrote, "the most beautiful film of the new century".

And don’t forget

Reygada’s follow up, “Batalla en el cielo”, which he directed only three years after, in 2005, also very strong yet less special. And i am already eagerly awaiting the follow up...