Synopsis
Johan and his family are Mennonites from the north of Mexico. Against the law of God and Man, Johan falls in love with another woman.
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Cast
- Cornelio WallJohan
- Miriam ToewsEsther
- Maria PankratzMarianne
- Peter WallPadre
- Jacobo KlassenZacarias
- Elizabeth FehrMadre
Recommendations
- 100
The A.V. Club
At bottom, Silent Light is less about faith than matters of the heart, and in Reygadas' hands, the ache is bone-deep. - 90
Village Voice
The results are extraordinary. As understated as it is, the movie is both deeply absurd and powerfully affecting. - 90
The New York Times
The film was written, directed and somehow willed into unlikely existence by the extravagantly talented Carlos Reygadas, whose immersion in this exotic world feels so deep and true that it seems like an act of faith. - 88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Much of what happens in Silent Light can feel painstakingly mundane: milking cows, harvesting wheat, a long drive at night in and out of shadows. Yet throughout, there's a sense of something ominous impending, and while it remains gentle, the ending is genuinely startling. - 88
New York Post
As is his custom, Reygadas uses a mostly nonprofessional cast; and, as expected, he draws remarkably realistic performances. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Reygadas has hitched his austere and protracted style to an allegorical tale of subtle strength and depth. - 70
Salon
It's amazingly beautiful and it tests your patience; both things are par for the course with Reygadas, After that, you've either surrendered to his idiosyncratic sense of rhythm, or you're out of there. - 50
Variety
Reygadas' typically arresting widescreen visuals and the presence of non-pro actors speaking in German-derived Plautdietsch makes for an initially hypnotic combination, but the spell breaks its hold well before the end of the picture's inflated running time, signaling an endurance test for all but the most ascetic arthouse auds.
