19/05/2002 - Newcomer Carlos Reygadas presents Japón, a harsh and disturbing film from a desolate land

The first revelation of this festival was Japón, the directorial debut by Mexican Carlos Reygadas that was sceened in Directors' Fortnight and is already a frontrunner to win the Caméra d´or. Co-produced by Spain's Hubert Bals Foundation, British Airways and Mexico's Ministry for the Environment, Japòn is set in the desolate Hidalgo region, 200 kilometers north of Mexico City. Reygadas uses a harsh and disturbing filmmaking style, reminiscent of films like Amores perros, to tell this story of a man who goes to the Hidalgo to shoot himself. Once there, he meets and makes friends with the inhabitants of a small village who offer him food and hospitality. The man rediscovers the power of Nature and the primordial instincts that he concealed in the sophisticated metropolis of Mexico City, come to the fore.
Reygadas,27, gave up a career in law to make films and his first efforts included a number of short films that were made with Belgian money. A slightly different version of Japón was premiered last January in Rotterdam.

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