Mexican writer-director Carlos Reygadas has built a small but devoted reputation as a cinematic auteur, but his willfully obscure latest film will likely try most viewers' patience. The Latin title translates as “After darkness, light,” although Reygadas sheds little of the latter during this puzzling film that centers on a family—Juan (Adolfo Jiménez Castro), Natalia (Nathalia Acevedo), and their young children Eleazar and Rut—living in a large house in the countryside. Scenes from their lives—beginning with a protracted sequence of toddler Rut running around a waterlogged field, shouting out the names of the animals she encounters, and continuing through the brutal beating of a dog (which many viewers will find utterly repulsive), an elaborate family reunion, a visit to a sex emporium, and what appears to be a deathbed watch—are interspersed with sequences focusing on their less prosperous neighbors, particularly a fellow called Seven who is employed by Juan as a handyman (but is also seen cutting down trees in the adjacent forest—some environmental message?). The various scenes—whether real or hallucinatory—are chronologically shuffled, with a surrealistic depiction of a flaming animated red devil sporting a long dangling penis and carrying a toolbox into the family's home serving as a bookend, presumably to portray the entrance of evil into this pristine Eden. Post Tenebras Lux boasts some striking images—not to mention possibly unsimulated sex—and the director's use of a modified fish-eye lens to distort the edges of the frame adds to their shimmering beauty. But ultimately one is left with the nagging suspicion that it's simply not worth the effort trying to extract some enlightenment from this opaque, pretentious film. Still, Reygadas won a Best Director prize at Cannes, where the film itself also picked up the prestigious Palme d'Or, making this a strong optional purchase for more adventurous collections. (F. Swietek)
Post Tenebras Lux
Strand, 115 min., in Spanish, French & English w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $27.99, Aug. 20 Volume 28, Issue 5
Post Tenebras Lux
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