The directors daughter, in the films striking opening sequence
  • The director’s daughter, in the film’s striking opening sequence

I’m still trying to decide whether I like Carlos Reygadas’s Post Tenebras Lux, which played twice at the Chicago International Film Festival. I take that as a good sign. If I still can’t categorize my response to a work of art after sleeping on it, then chances are it’s challenging my prejudices in ways I hadn’t before considered. And if the challenge proves constructive enough, then I usually end up feeling grateful for the work regardless of whether I enjoy it. Such has been my relationship with Jean-Marie Straub and Daniele Huilet’s Too Early, Too Late, Michael Snow’s Wavelength, and nearly every piece of music I’ve heard by Arnold Schoenberg. Maybe I’ll feel the same way about Reygadas’s new film (his first since Silent Light) after it settles in my mind. Unfortunately, the movie remains without a U.S. theatrical distributor, so I may not get to retest my impressions for a while.