Post Tenebras Lux Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

Post Tenebras Lux Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 30, 2013

Winner of Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Mexican auteur Carlos Reygadas' "Post Tenebras Lux" (2012) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Verve Pictures/Drakes Avenue Pictures. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film, video interview with Carlos Reygadas, and video interview with actress Nathalia Acevedo. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The Arrival

Mexican auteur Carlos Reygadas’ latest film Post Tenebras Lux (which translates to After Darkness Light) suggests that the Devil is locked in our minds, where he waits patiently for the right opportunity to break free and enter our lives.

The film opens up somewhere in the Mexican countryside, where Juan (Adolfo Jimenez Castro) and his wife Natalia (Nathalia Acevedo) live quietly with their two children. The size of their secluded house and the fact that they have a maid makes it clear that they are wealthy.

When the children are around Juan and Natalia look happy, but when they are alone they look like strangers who have been forced to live together. A few seemingly random sequences soon reveal why. In one of them Juan confesses that he is obsessed with online pornography, and in another he nearly kills one of his favorite dogs. His obsession has made him feel guilty, while his inability to overcome it has made him feel weak and angry. The anger has also made him an abusive husband. Natalia has tried to be a good wife and mother, but living away from the city and enduring Juan's frequent outbursts of anger has forced her to contemplate whether it was right to start a family with him. Now her frustration frequently makes her feel ashamed of herself.

A different character named Seven (Willebaldo Torres) also makes multiple appearances in the film. He is employed by Juan to fix different things in the lavish house. Seven also has a wife and two children, but has abandoned them because he can no longer take care of them. During the second half of the film Juan, Natalia, and Seven's lives become closely intertwined.

Reygadas follows the three characters in a manner that is likely to frustrate just as many viewers as it will impress. Different segments constantly overlap each other and make it virtually impossible to separate past and present events from what also appear to be rather long dreams. All of these segments, however, are linked to the idea that the Devil is a condition, a state of mind that can become incredibly dangerous.

Deconstructing each segment and then attempting to understand the exact reason behind its placement in this elaborate and very personal puzzle isn’t necessary to appreciate Reygadas' vision. The film is meant to be experienced, like a dream or possibly even a vision, not fully understood and inevitably compared to other equally challenging works.

Like its narrative structure, the film’s visual design is very unusual. Reygadas shot the overwhelming majority of Post Tenebras Lux with special lenses that partially blur the corners of the image frame. During select sequences frame overlapping-like effects are also introduced. As a result, it frequently feels like one is viewing the action through a strange funnel.

Past Tenebras Lux was lensed by cinematographer Alexis Zabe, who also collaborated with the Mexican auteur on his award-winning film Silent Light (2007).

Post Tenebras Lux Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.31:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Carlos Reygadas' Post Tenebras Lux arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Verve Pictures/Drakes Avenue Pictures.

The technical presentations is outstanding. Because of the way it was shot -- with special lenses that frequently make the corners of the image frame blurry -- the film can look either somewhat subdued or incredibly vibrant. Clarity and sharpness levels, however, do not suffer because of transfer specific anomalies. On the contrary, close-ups as well as panoramic shots where the 'funnel' technique isn't used look simply terrific (see screencaptures #13 and 14). Color reproduction is fantastic. There is a terrific range of rich, lush, and stable colors that can easily fool one to speculate that the film was shot with a digital camera. Some of the dusk sequences, in particular, look like digital photographs. Image stability stability is excellent. Also, there are no serious encoding or compression anomalies to report in this review. All in all, this is an excellent presentation of Post Tenebras Lux that is guaranteed to please its fans as well as those who decide to experience the film for the very first time on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Post Tenebras Lux Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Spanish LPCM 2.0. For the record, Verve Pictures/Drakes Avenue Pictures have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The film does not have a prominent soundtrack. Also, there is no prominent surround movement. There are sporadic nature sounds and noises, but the film's sound design is indeed very organic. Unsurprisingly, there isn't a sizable gap in quality between the two lossless tracks. The dialog is crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. The English translation is excellent.

Post Tenebras Lux Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Post Tenebras Lux. (2 min).

• Carlos Reygadas Interview - in this video interview, the acclaimed Mexican director explains how Post Tenebras Lux came to exist, and discusses the film's visual style and unique themes. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Nathalia Acevedo Interview - in this video interview, Nathalia Acevedo discusses her contribution to Post Tenebras Lux and how a few of the more challenging scenes in the film were shot. In English, not subtitled (4 min).

Post Tenebras Lux Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I would like to recommend Carlos Reygadas' Post Tenebras Lux to anyone looking for something fresh and very unique. It is a very challenging film, guaranteed to resonate differently with different viewers, but it offers an experience that I think many will appreciate. The film looks and sounds fantastic on Blu-ray. If you reside in North America and wish to see Post Tenebras Lux, keep in mind that Strand Releasing are also bringing it to Blu-ray next month (see our listing of this upcoming release here). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.