- Mexico
STELLET LICHT
Synopsis
Johan is a farmer, a Mennonite in northern Mexico, married to Esther and father of six children. For some time now he has loved another woman, Marianne, and Esther knows it. Johan conceals nothing and yet cannot decide – he has fallen in love against the law of God and of men, and what began as passion becomes a crisis of faith with consequences for the body and soul of the whole family. Carlos Reygadas’s “Stellet Licht” (Mexico 2007) tells this story in Plautdietsch, the language of the community, and with a rigour that leaves the people within their landscape and their faith.
Reygadas cast the roles with Mennonites from the region, non-professionals with no filmmaking experience; Cornelio Wall plays Johan, the writer Miriam Toews plays Esther. The film opens with a long take of a sunrise and closes with dusk, as though both were daily miracles. At Cannes in 2007 it received, jointly, the Jury Prize. “Stellet Licht” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2008.
Festival
Shown at the 2008 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.
