Batalla en el cielo (2005)

Director:

Carlos Reygadas

Writer:

Carlos Reygadas (writer)

Release Date:

August 2005 (Russia)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A working-class man named Marcos and his wife kidnap a baby for ransom money, but it goes tragically wrong when the infant dies...

Plot Keywords:

Guilt | Ransom | Baby | Collapse | Love

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Marcos Hernández	...	Marcos
Anapola Mushkadiz	...	Ana
Bertha Ruiz	...	Marcos' Wife
David Bornstein	...	Jaime
Rosalinda Ramirez	...	Viky
El Abuelo	...	Chief of Police
Brenda Angulo	...	Madame
El Mago	...	Preacher
Francisco 'El Gato' Martínez	...	Gas Station Attendant
Diego Martínez Vignatti	...	Soccer Player
Alejandro Mayar	...	Police Inspector
Chavo Nava	...	Neurotic Conductor
Estela Tamariz	...	Ines
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernesto Veláquez	...	Entrevistador Cancha

Also Known As:

Battle in Heaven (Germany) (DVD title) (International: English title)
Bataille dans le ciel (France)
Eine Schlacht im Himmel (Germany) (TV title)

Runtime:

98 min | Brazil:126 min (director's cut) | Argentina:98 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

France | Germany | Mexico | Belgium

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Norway:18 | Netherlands:16 | Italy:VM18 | Hong Kong:III | Argentina:18 | South Korea:Limited | Germany:18 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:R21 (cut) | France:-16 | Portugal:M/18 | Australia:R | Brazil:16 (director's cut) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Société Parisienne de Production

Trivia:

For the US theatrical poster hair was digitally added to cover the breasts of Anapola Mushkadiz.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the scene where Ana and Marcos are making love, as the camera pans out, a crew member's reflection can be seen in the window.

Movie Connections:

References "SpongeBob SquarePants" (1999)

Understated, flowing gem

A film from Mexico so understated it is able to break taboos seemingly on a whim without making you twitch a muscle. We are introduced to Carlos, chaperon for the daughter of a Mexican army general named Ana. She is a mesmerising presence on-screen, promiscuous and enlightened, and she captures the desire of Carlos, who has seen her grow from a young school-girl into a gorgeous young woman over the course of, we are told, fifteen years.

Early on in the film, we learn that Carlos is guilty of a crime, committed in collusion with his wife, and throughout the course of the film the guilt arising from his actions drives him slowly out of his mind. He begins to lose concentration, then the ability to communicate, until eventually he loses all of his senses and becomes a slave to impulse. Enabled by his relationship with Ana, he takes part in a Christian pilgrimage to absolve himself of sin.

The film is full of beauty in the way it depicts the tedium of Carlos' life. Reygadas' camera often wanders to show us Mexico City through the eyes of this man, who seems so passive and impartial, his face barely registering an emotion, that the strangest sights (pilgrims chanting and crawling through the city, odd encounters in airport terminals, unwarranted road rage) become something we can sit back, take in, and admire. This extends to the graphic sex and nudity: a beautiful shot sees the petite-bodied Ana f#cking the man-mountain Carlos while he lays still as a corpse; the camera pans out of their window and surveys the scenes of the neighbourhood, as if the film-maker is attempting to normalise sex in the context of everyday life ie. this isn't a "sex scene".

This has the effect of turning a potentially sensationalist subject into one that invites reflection and contemplation. An excellent film.