With Japón, Carlos Reygadas set the tone for his later work – a compelling, existential drama about death, sex, love and religion, located in a stunning landscape. A man from the city goes to a village in a remote, majestic ravine to prepare for his suicide there. He finds shelter with an old widow. After a couple of days and entirely against his intention, a couple of things bring him back to the land of the living. Firstly, a cousin of the widow who has just come out of jail wants to rob the old woman and secondly, the man’s sexual instincts are suddenly awoken. Having screened in Rotterdam, this fascinating debut attracted attention everywhere, was re-edited by Reygadas and had a second world première at the Cannes film festival, where his next three films also screened.
Film details
Countries of production
Mexico, Spain
Year
2001
Festival edition
IFFR 2002
Length
143"
Medium/Format
Betacam Digi
Language
Spanish
Premiere status
World premiere
Director
Carlos Reygadas
Producer
Carlos Reygadas
Cinematography
Diego Martínez Vignatti
Sound design
Gilles Laurent
Editing
David Torres, Carlos Serrano Azcona, DANIEL MELGUIZO