|
Winner of the 2007 Cannes Jury Prize
Winner Best Director, Best Supporting Actress 2007 Ariel Awards (Mexico)
Silent Light
June 5 - 12, 7:00 & 9:30
A film by Carlos Reygadas
Starring Cornelio Wall Fehr, Miriam Toews, Maria Pankratz
MEXICO/FRANCE/GERMANY/NETHERLANDS/2007 // 142 minutes // 35MM // Plaudietch w English subtitles
PRESS SCREENING: THURSDAY MAY 22, 11:00 AM at Vancity Theatre.
|
|
Winner of the 2007 Cannes Jury Prize, Silent Light, directed by Carlos Reygades (Japon, Battle In Heaven), one of Mexico’s leading filmmakers, was recently (March ’08) honoured with 5 Ariels, Mexico’s film awards including Best Director and Best Actress for Maria Pankratz
“A stunning opening shot of a heavenly breaking dawn sets the pace for Carlos Reygadas’s third feature film. His most mature and emotionally moving film to date, Silent Light exhibits Reygadas’s thoughtful approach to cinema, but the sexual provocation often present in his previous features is nowhere to be seen. While his protagonists still face their demons, Silent Light has a tender tone that is as soft as the sun’s rays peeping through the trees.
Starring Mennonite actors (from Mexico, Canada and Russia), Silent Light lets the audience peek into the domestic rituals of a couple and their children in a Mennonite community outside Chihuahua. Johan (Cornelio Wall Fehr) is in the midst of a marital crisis with his wife Esther (Governor General award-winning Manitoba novelist Miriam Toews), because he believes himself to be deeply in love with Marianne (María Pankratz), with whom he has been having an affair. There is no deception, however. Johan has been upfront with Esther from the start. Yet despite his belief that Marianne is his ideal mate and “natural woman,” his desire to preserve the family’s stability and, most profoundly, his great love for his wife and children, prevent him from starting a new life with his mistress.
As in Reygadas’s cinema in general, one of the most intriguing aspects of Silent Light is his use of non-professional actors. When an extra stares directly into the camera, we are reminded that we are watching a film. At the same time, we are beguiled. In this world, there is no need to explain how or why people die of broken hearts or how love and generosity can literally raise the dead.
There are moments of ethereal peace in the film, especially given its contemplative and poetic pace. This strange place to which we are transported, where the inhabitants speak Plautdietsch (a German derivative), appears utopian at times – the absence of poverty is especially jarring. In showing us this unexpected part of the Mexican landscape, Reygadas demonstrates not only his genius with the camera, but also his ability to treat difficult subjects with delicate humanity. “ - Diana Sanchez – TIFF 2007
|
|
Call the Info Line, 604.683.FILM (3456)
for the latest info and listings. Tickets can be purchased in advance
on-line at www.vifc.org or
in person 30 minutes before showtime.
Adult tickets: $9.50 (Double Bill - $12)
Student/Senior $7.50 (Double Bill - $10)
Matinees $7.50
Bronze and above members receive a $2
discount on their tickets. (Double Bill - $10)
Silver and above members
also receive a $2 discount for a guest ticket.
As a registered non-profit society, the VIFC screens films that have not always been seen by the BC Film Classification Board. Under BC law, any person wishing to see these unclassified films must belong to the VIFC Society and be 18 years or older. Valid for one year based on the date of purchase, the VIFC basic membership cost is $2.50.
Please note that membership benefits and
restrictions are valid for VIFC presentations only. They are not applicable to Vancity Theatre "Rental" presentations by
other organizations.
For More Membership Information go to http://www.vifc.org/membership.html.
Vancity Theatre is located at 1181 Seymour St. (at
Davie) |
