Batalla en el cielo (2005)
|
|
i liked japon when i saw it (before i saw taste of cherry) so i went to this without knowing anything about it other than it was reygadas. immediately with the first shot it was very clear his intentions were more focused this time: super-clean cinematography and setting so he seems more willing to use artifice; and, obviously, a desire to shock. the artifice didn’t really carry through except with the music (but was still diegetic! sure.) but the way he pushed the story (unlike japon where nothing happened from cause and effect - it just happened,) had the same artifice-y intentions.
as far as being shocking, i read an interview where he talks about how everyone has sex but movies don’t show it, so he’s the normal one for showing it. but he’s clearly intending shock in his framing and pacing. the first scene moves so slow and he does the very obvious trick of hiding the dick with the arm so you think they’re like other movies, then ‘haha fooled you we are showing dick!’ he does want to shock. the sex scenes were useful later in developing the relationships though. and it was interesting seeing fat people naked.
immediately after seeing this i had ambiguous feelings about it, but then after reading the interview with him i soured. it seems like he has big ideas about what he doesn’t want movies to be, but his ideas about what his movies are going to be end up being less spectacular than his departure.
