To watch Stellet Licht (released in the English-speaking world as "Silent Light," or in the Hispanic world of Mexican director Carlos Reygadas, "Luz Silenciosa") with pleasure, you have to:
- Be able to watch a camera shot for as long as it takes the sun to rise;
- Accept the idea that a Mexican film can be almost devoid of Spanish dialog;
- Be attentive to the background sounds as much as the visuals;
- Accept the idea that Mennonites can commit adultery within their community;
- Tolerate the notion that an award-winning film can feature not only non-stars, but complete unknowns.
If you are capable of the above, then prepare for a treat with this film out of the great plains of Chihuahua. Already, reviews confirm Cannes' 2007 Jury Award, with lines like "prayer-like visuals," or "masterpiece," or "'Ordet' (a 1955 rural life classic by Dane Carl Dreyer, to which Leonard Maltin has awarded ****) has found its Mexican reincarnation."
(Photo Source: Bac Films)
It's reassuring (or should be to American Mennonites, who may not yet have had a chance to see the film) that the London Mennonite Centre's homepage shows the film's official British-release poster, along with this excerpt from a review:
"The award-winning film, Silent Light, is a wonderful, profound and moving film about the spiritual crisis of a Mennonite farmer in Mexico who is having an affair. Filmed entirely in a Mennonite community and using only Mennonite non-actors, Silent Light is a slow-paced, beautiful and sensitive portrayal of Mennonite life in Mexico." — Vic Thiessen
I just hope that American Mennonites are not offended by the theme of adultery, which, as we know, has been around since, well, Biblical times. I grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania, which has longstanding and large Mennonite (sometimes referred to - perhaps not geographically or religiously accurately - as "Pennsylvania Dutch") population. I remember the community as appearing socially conservative (family, "plainness" in all senses, including dress) though this Q & A from the London Mennonite Centre gives fuller background:
Who are the Mennonites?
Mennonites are Christians who love Jesus, follow his teaching, live in the forgiveness he made possible, and experience the power he gives through the Holy Spirit to transform their lives. In particular, Mennonites derive from a part of the Reformation known as Anabaptists or 'the radical reformation'. Discipleship, mutual support, following Jesus' hard teaching on loving enemies and concern for justice and right living have been particularly important for Mennonites. Read about Dirk Willems, an Anabaptist who loved his enemy and paid with his life.
Mennonites take their name from a priest, Menno Simons, who spent much of the 16th century travelling the Netherlands, preaching, teaching and encouraging other Anabaptists, and by God's grace escaped arrest from both Protestant and Roman Catholic authorities.
Reygadas captures how such a community still lives in 21st century Mexico in his film. I didn't even realize the significance at first when several scenes show visitors arriving unannounced, and people called away from a dinner table to greet someone at the door. Well, of course - if you don't have telephones, you're always going to have to just "stop by." The particular community depicted - we are told by the film's publicity material that there are more than 100,000 Mennonites in northern Mexico - has adapted to other aspects of modern life (cars and pickup trucks, combines, and hospitals). The pervasive "silence" is reinforced by a script that has the characters only utter the strict minimum, and always in a completely credible monotone.
I've enthused enough; please just go and see the film. It's like watching paint dry (and I mean this in a positive sense - just check the official website, and be sure to click on "English" for a stunning still shot from the film's opening sequence).