Japón

"Japón" (2003) — the debut feature from Mexican director Carlos Reygadas — is available to watch online on iFILM. A middle-aged painter leaves Mexico City for the remote canyons of Hidalgo state. He hasn't come to paint. He's come to die.

He takes lodging with Ascen, an elderly indigenous woman whose world runs on faith, silence and mountain routine. Shot on 16mm with a handheld camera and non-professional cast, the film moves at canyon pace: wide shots of stone walls and shifting light, almost no dialogue. What passes between two people who barely share a language turns out to be enough.

Reygadas premiered the film at Cannes 2003 in the Un Certain Regard section — a sharp arrival for Mexican art cinema. It asks for patience and returns something hard to name. Stream "Japón" online on iFILM.