Battle in Heaven

Though I am dragging out my final review of 2006 way too long, your humble scribe is still subjecting himself to films that are no fun to watch, so I can recommend the ones you ought watch anyway. This Mexican film by Carlos Reygadas (ranked #18 in Indiewire critics poll) is not one of them -- unless you hanker for fleeting but explicit glimpses of actual sex acts. To be fair, much of the film is hypnotically watchable (e.g. a sequence of soldiers raising a huge Mexican flag), but it’s hard to tell whether the story itself is odious or merely otiose. The use of nonprofessional actors is sub-Bressonian and the oblique action involves the death of a baby and the murder of a beautiful young woman, but not in any involving way, which suggests mostly sensationalism, rather than the political or even spiritual significance ascribed by some critics. It may be a good film to argue about, but is not otherwise edifying or enjoyable. Nonetheless, Reygadas might be a filmmaker to watch in the future, with a distinctive visual style. (2006, dvd, n.) *5* (MC-56.)