Japón (2002)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Carlos Reygadas

Writer:

Carlos Reygadas (writer)

Release Date:

2 October 2002 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A painter from the big city goes to a remote canyon to commit suicide. To reach some calmness he stays at the farmstead of Ascen, an old religious woman. Although but a few words are spoken love grows. |

Plot Keywords:

Canyon | Suicide | Dead Horse | Remoteness | Nature

Awards:

16 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Alejandro Ferretis	...	The man
Magdalena Flores	...	Ascen
Yolanda Villa	...	Sabina
Martín Serrano	...	Juan Luis
Rolando Hernández	...	The judge
Bernabe Pérez	...	The singer
Fernando Benítez	...	Fernando
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carlo Reygadas Barquín	...	The hunter

Also Known As:

Japan (Europe: English title) (festival title) (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong sexuality, nudity and language.

Runtime:

130 min | Argentina:132 min | Canada:122 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Netherlands:143 min | USA:122 min | UK:133 min | USA:128 min (unrated version)

Country:

Mexico | Germany | Netherlands | Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R (cut) | USA:Unrated | France:U | Australia:MA | Argentina:16 | New Zealand:R16 | UK:18 (cut)

Company:

No Dream Cinema

Trivia:

Director Carlos Reygadas financed the initial shoot of $50,000 himself.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Ayacatzintla (2003)

A strange piece of film indeed.

I watched this film after reading some interesting reviews about a promising art-house director, stunning landscapes and grit and reality, as harsh as it is seen through the ever widening lens.

Hmm.

All of the above is perfectly fitting. The camera work is sheer brilliance.

The audio on this film is what grabs you from the very start: The sound is used to full effect, from the bird calls in the trees; the nearby water; the drunken Mexican workers: especially watch out for the singing scene, all made so very powerful thorough the medium of sound. In lots of scenes, the audio is carrying the visuals and not the other way around.

I have to say the story is most unusual and as you may already have read, can be quite uncomfortable at times. At one point I actually thought 'I don't need to be watching something like this on my screen..why am I?', as it just got a bit weird for me. I stuck with it though and, there is a message in there. I won't spoil any of the movie for you by going much deeper into it but as one commenter already said, it is about Man and his loneliness. His desperation and also his bad decisions and inability to change: his world and himself.

I can see why there are so many negative remarks here for this.

At first, I came here with the intention of doing something similar but when I started writing about this movie I just watched, I find myself analysing it and it sinks in that there really is a work of art and it shouldn't be condemned, it should be talked about and watched by many!

There are, for sure, some bad areas where they might have done better to edit certain overly long scenes out or perhaps moved the story around a bit but, this movie isn't about the story, not really. It is about the characters, more than that: it is about Character itself. Even the characters are just a vehicle for the main theme.

I urge you to watch this with an open mind.