MOMA to salute Carlos Reygadas & SILENT LIGHT

Apparently unrelated to the NYFF which is kicking off the same week, MOMA is presenting a week long run of one of the best films from NYFF 07. Carlos Reygada’s SILENT LIGHT, which very surprisingly has never secured any sort of distribution in the US, is inaugurating a new series from MOMA called “Filmmaker in Focus” starting September 24.

In addition to the awe-inspiring SILENT LIGHT, MOMA is presenting Reygadas’ 2 other features (which Reygadas says forms a sort of trilogy) and also a couple of his short films. Of his two other features, the one that is the most known is the devisive BATTLE IN HEAVEN, which I appreciate greatly but many others fault as falsely shocking and exploitative (a charge that, I believe, just means they don’t get it.) His first film, JAPÓN, I saw many years ago and and it didn’t make an impression at the time, so I’ll be checking it out again at MOMA.

But the real news is SILENT LIGHT, which has many recognizable hallmarks of Reygadas’ style but feels worlds different from BATTLE IN HEAVEN. It’s an absolute must-see, and is a fitting way to initiate a discussion on one of the most interesting and thought-provoking filmmakers working today.