Battle In Heaven -
Unrated (2005/DTS/Tartan)
Picture: C+
Sound: B Extras: C+ Film: B-
Anapola Mushkadiz is the daughter of a high profile
Mexican general who has decided to lead a secret life as a hooker in high
priced brothels in Battle In Heaven (Batalla En El Cielo, 2005),
which is just the beginning of Carlos Reygadas’ look at several connected
people who are involved with extraordinary, questionable activities they all
seem to be doing because of some emptiness in their lives.
Ana (Mushkadiz) is able to keep this a secret from
everyone but her chauffer Marcos (Marcos Hernandez), who is interested in her
and the situation, but is married and with his wife (Berta Ruiz) has kidnapped
the baby of a prominent family and hold it for ransom. Things take a wild twist when the baby dies,
Ana finds out this secret and the “battle” really begins. Once again, Reygadas takes the Neo-Realist
route, with the film reminding one particularly of Pasolini and Antonioni, but
there is enough Kubrick here to show how far Reygadas decided to go sexually.
As for that much-discussed sex, it is never what one
expects from the outset. The persons
having sex are not the kind you would ever see involved in such activity on
film much, heavy, out of shape, unenergetic, unhappy, all the way down to
Ana. She may be attractive and sexy,
but the situations are cold and gutted out.
Any warmth to be found in physical human connection is temporary at
best. This longer cut of the film is
particularly explicit, but the point is clear.
The film has an empty landscape where beauty can be found, but it is not
easy and finding one’s self is much harder.
Though we have seen some of this before and the ending is somewhat
problematic, Battle In Heaven is ambitious and worth a look uncut.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image reunites
cinematographer Diego Martinez Vignatti with Reygadas in a work that is
interested in artificial landscapes that think they are natural and natural
ones that have been altered, touched or even mutilated in some way. The use of color and lighting is also
interesting, even down to playing with the idea of artificial versus natural
light, all of which twists the clichéd ideas of heavenly visual space. It suits the twisted narrative situation
well and makes for a good color palette as well.
The sound is here in two 5.1 mixes, Dolby Digital and a
better DTS version that has more subtle detail and obvious fullness. Dialogue is sparse, the sound mix
emphasizing certain sound details and music is rare. Like the visuals, the sound has character. Extras include the trailer for this film and
an upcoming Tartan title, scenes from Japon reviewed elsewhere on this
site and an interview with Reygadas and Miss Mushkadiz worth your time, just
like the film.
- Nicholas Sheffo
