POST TENEBRAS LUX ("light after darkness"), ostensibly the story of an
upscale, urban family whose move to the Mexican countryside results in
domestic crises and class friction, is a stunningly photographed,
impressionistic psychological portrait of a family and their place
within the sublime, unforgiving natural world. Reygadas conjures a host
of unforgettable, ominous images: a haunting sequence at dusk as
Reygadas's real-life daughter wanders a muddy field and farm animals
loudly circle and
thunder and lightning
threaten; a glowing-red demon gliding through the rooms of a home; a
husband and wife visiting a swingers' bathhouse with rooms named after
famous philosophers. By turns entrancing and mystifying, POST TENEBRAS
LUX palpably explores the primal conflicts of the human condition.
