Small Town Film Series: Stellet Licht
The series continues with Silent Light, or Stellet Licht (2007) in the Plautdietsch dialect. Bookended by a sunrise and a sunset, Carlos Reygadas’ film unfolds gradually and beautifully. Both set and filmed in a German Mennonite community in Chihuahua, Mexico, the film follows the simple story of a married man, Johan, (Cornelio Wall Fehr), who has fallen in love with another woman, Marianne, (Maria Pankratz), to the consternation of his wife Esther, (Miriam Toews). The film explores the transgression of boundaries, be that the confines of the marital bed, the borders of the community, and indeed, the boundaries of life and death itself. A cast of non-professional actors, all of whom are from Mennonite communities, give raw yet graceful performances. Often compared to Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1955 Ordet, Reygadas similarly combines an ascetic visual language with elements of magical realism. (Run time: 2 hours, 16 minutes)
Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524.
https://www.clarkart.edu/event/detail/2803-92167
Image: Stellet Licht, Carlos Reygadas, 2007
Other films in the Small Town Film Series:
The Magnificent Ambersons-Thursday, March 6, 2025
George Washington-Thursday, March 13, 2025
Dazed and Confused-Thursday, March 20, 2025
Shadow of a Doubt-Thursday, March 27, 2025
Shotgun Stories-Thursday, April 3, 2025
Stellet Licht-Thursday, April 10, 2025
The Last Picture Show-Thursday, April 17, 2025