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.

Like a Malick film on valium, this gorgeously shot picture edges snail-like in its attempt to convey the reserved lifestyle of the Mennonite people and the space guilt occupies in our heads. Reygadas shows a bit too much reverence for his influences though, exhibiting little creativity of his own. Wide shots that hang, then zoom in slowly for dramatic effect become comically predictable; his best trick. A nice film in need of some trimming, but essentially a tribute to ground already covered.

Perhaps the only time an homage is better than the film it's paying it to. I'm sure not many people would share that opinion though.

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.

"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

:l

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.

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.

every scene of this languid rural drama draws deep breaths from a divine air, channelling with simple grace life, love and death as inevitable pieces in god's painful, rapturous plan. problem is that these religious explorations of human nature are always so lofty and stiff and impersonal, they end up connecting with their god more than they do with their audience. least i was occasionally left slobbering over the yawning succession of peaceful images, i guess.

Both a stunning homage to Dreyer and an inspired, beautiful tale on love, life, and human nature.

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.

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.

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.