Silent Light's beauty lies in detachment from conscience, giving an exceptionally passive viewing experience. There is a close-up on a blade of grass, a patch of skin; textures of the world. Words are unnatural. The people are naked; sans superficial. A child glances at the camera; the fourth wall collapses under the weight of reality. There is trial and retribution. There is day to night.
Everything is internal, barely reaching the surface, and you have to give yourself over to the movie but do so and you are richly rewarded with a beautiful experience - it's honest like so few films are, so bare and real you can almost touch it and yet very subtly ever so slightly off, ever so slightly like something out of a dream. The performances are wonderfully understated, the opening 15 minutes masterful and the way Reygadas ends the plot is just stunning.
We get a series of really really really long boring shots that are supposedly artful but which contribute nothing whatsoever to the story or its themes.
Reygadas has achieved miracles with 'Silent Light'. For such an uninteresting plot, it's amazing he produced such a compelling film. The pacing, the sounds, the symbolism and, of course, the cinematography are all astonishingly good.
Many have pointed out the homage to Dreyer's Ordet, but this is only so in a superficial sense. Where Dreyer's film ends with the miraculous reunion of spirit and flesh on multiple levels, Silent Light's final miracle rings a bit more hollow in comparison. That said, the film has all the formal elements to "make" a masterpiece--deep treatment of its theme, beautiful and purposeful cinematography, meaningful edits, and a narrative that matters. Oh, and those shots that bookend the film? Stunning.
Stunningly beautiful film whose style makes up for the languid pacing and somewhat uninteresting characters. Enough happens that it's not too hard to stay focused, but I had trouble connecting with, or caring about, the people in the film which made the slow pacing a bit more of a challenge.
"Tells the impossibly muted story of a marriage coming undone because of a Mennonite man's affair with another woman, evincing none of the sexual danger and philosophical and political complexities of Japón and Battle in Heaven." - Ed Gonzalez
20 Nisan 08, atlas1 sira8 koltuk1, 16:00, 27.ist. film fest. & gercekten seyirciyi zorlayan bir film.genel olarak dusundugunde cok basarili fakat 150dk., muziksiz, agir kamera hareketleriyle izlemek bazen iskenceye donustuyor filmi...festivalin en zorlayan filmi oldu.
Probably the most beautiful film of the decade. Silent Light moves at a glacial pace, but in doing so allows us to ruminate on all of its gorgeous details.
I'm sure the film's detractors have valid points, and I'm far too stupid or cinema-illiterate to fully appreciate this film, really - but still I cannot bring myself to give it a lower score than this. It is simply incredibly beautiful.
Initially watched the first half and could find nothing past its cinematography to be impressed with. A few months passed, I watch it again and love it. I just don't get myself, sometimes.
very powerful directing with references to dreyer's ordet, looks for the roots of man domination and patriarchy in rural mexico. reminded me of the upcoming "das weisse band" in terms of "death" and "children" in agricaltural communities. a mix of realism and dreams.
Slow-moving and simple narrative, set in an interesting milieu and filmed in a style that seems to owe much to Malick, Tarkovsky and Dreyer. From beginnings that seem to promise little more than arty prettiness, that is, emptiness, eventually there are some sequences that are a little more involving, but without ever managing to rise to the sublime heights for which the filmmakers are so clearly striving. Some of the cinematography is indeed very nice.
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