Silent Light

Theatrical Release Date: 2009 01 09 (USA - Limited) / 2009 (USA - Limited) / 2008 10 02 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 842498000038

Studio: Tartan Video

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Adult Situations, Sexual Situations]

Summary: A man of faith succumbs to a temptation he cannot resist in this drama written and directed by Carlos Reygadas. Johan (Cornelio Wall Fehr) and Esther (Miriam Toews) have been married for years, and live with their children in a Mennonite community Mexico. While Johan and Esther are both taciturn by nature, a moral dilemma is tearing Johan apart -- he's been having an affair with another woman in their circle, Marianne (Maria Pankratz), and feels he may be falling in love with her. While the tenants of his faith strictly forbid adultery, his need to be with Marianne seems stronger than the dictates of his moral compass, and while he's confessed his sins to Esther and his close friend Zacarias (Jacobo Klassen), subjecting himself to the shame of truth hasn't buffered his desires. Even worse, after Johan confesses to his father about his lust for Marianne, he's told that he may have fallen under the sway of Satan. Luz Silenciosa (aka Silent Light) received its world premiere at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Jury Prize – Cannes Film Festival Film Presented – Toronto International Film Festival Film Presented – New York Film Festival Film Presented – Chicago International Film Festival Film Presented – London Film Festival Film Presented – AFI Fest Film Presented – Rotterdam International Film Festival Film Presented – Miami International Film Festival Film Presented – Melbourne International Film Festival Best Foreign Film – Independent Spirit Awards

Features: Making-of featurette
Interview with lead actor
Film notes by Jason Wood
Deleted scenes

Silent Light

Format: DVD

Release Date: 09/08/2009

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DTS Digital Theater Systems, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 136 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) German

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Silent Light
1. Opening Titles [9:58]
2. Silent Prayer [7:56]
3. Zacarias [7:19]
4. Marianne [8:36]
5. Moment of Harmony [10:48]
6. Sharing Thoughts with Dad [7:56]
7. Urgent Delivery [5:42]
8. Peace Is Stronger Than Love [11:10]
9. Concert in the Van [8:38]
10. Confessions [5:05]
11. Tears in the Rain [3:26]
12. Coronary Trauma [7:40]
13. Saying Goodbye [7:42]
14. Regrets [7:05]
15. Silent Light [9:18]
16. End Credits [8:41]

Bruce Eder

Carlos Reygadas' Silent Light (2007) is an absorbing study of faith and belief, challenged and stretched almost to the breaking point by the human relations it depicts. Set in a Mennonite community in Mexico, it tells a story of infidelity and its consequences in intimate detail, with muted colors, all carefully shaded. The slow, gradual transition of shadows across Reygadas' widescreen (2.35:1) image seems to reflect the pace of life among his subjects, a people whose devotion to and belief in God, if one is to absorb the events depicted, can allow them to transcend even the most personal betrayal and (seemingly) the most dire of consequences that stem from it. From the opening shot, a six-minute-plus transition from night into day across the sky, Reygadas seems prepared to take his time telling his story, and he has the cast to do it with, led by Cornelio Wall Fehr and Miriam Toews as a husband and wife whose marriage is jeopardized by his faithlessness. Their performances, and their interactions with the rest of the cast, are so note-perfect that you forget it's a scripted film you're watching, and almost find yourself feeling guilty for intruding upon a family's daily life. This is verisimilitude on an uncanny level, and coupled with the director's unforced storytelling, yields a hypnotic result for the viewer. You never lose sight of the struggle that these characters are engaged in to sustain their faith, and it is this dramatic component that drives the story forward, maintaining interest across 144 minutes to a visually startling, spiritually rewarding denouement that carries us back to a point recalling that glorious opening. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Carlos Reygadas  Director 
Carlos Reygadas  Producer 
Carlos Reygadas  Screenwriter 
Jaime Romandia  Producer 
Jaime Baksht  Composer (Music Score) 
Cornelio Wall  Actor 
Miriam Toews  Actor 
Maria Pankratz  Actor 
Peter Wall  Actor 
Elisabeth Fehr  Actor 
Jacobo Klassen  Actor 
Irma Thiessen  Actor 
Alfredo Thiessen  Actor 
Daniel Thiessen  Actor 
Autghe Loewen  Actor 
Jackob Loewen  Actor 
Gerardo Thiessen  Actor 
Alex Thiessen  Actor 

Country: France,Germany,Netherlands,Mexico