Batalla en el cielo (2005)

Director:

Carlos Reygadas

Writer:

Carlos Reygadas

Release Date:

August 2005 (Russia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A working-class man named Marcos and his wife kidnap a baby for ransom money, but it goes tragically wrong when the infant dies...

Plot Keywords:

Guilt | Baby | Ransom | Football Match | Broken Eyeglasses

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Marcos Hernández	...	Marcos
Anapola Mushkadiz	...	Ana
Bertha Ruiz	...	Marcos' Wife
David Bornstein	...	Jaime
Rosalinda Ramirez	...	Viky
El Abuelo	...	Chief of Police
Brenda Angulo	...	Madame
El Mago	...	Preacher
Francisco 'El Gato' Martínez	...	Gas Station Attendant
Diego Martínez Vignatti	...	Soccer Player
Alejandro Mayar	...	Police Inspector
Chavo Nava	...	Neurotic Conductor
Estela Tamariz	...	Ines
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernesto Veláquez	...	Entrevistador Cancha

Directed by
Carlos Reygadas

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Carlos Reygadas

Produced by
Philippe Bober	....	producer
Susanne Marian	....	producer
Hamish McAlpine	....	executive producer
Carlos Reygadas	....	producer
Jaime Romandia	....	producer
Joseph Rouschop	....	co-producer

Original Music by
John Tavener

Cinematography by
Diego Martínez Vignatti

Film Editing by
Adoración G. Elipe
Benjamin Mirguet
Carlos Reygadas
Nicolas Schmerkin

Art Direction by
Elsa Ruiz
Daniela Schneider

Makeup Department
Guillaume Castagné	....	special makeup effects artist
Frédéric Lainé	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Leonardo de la Sierra	....	unit production manager
Gerardo Tagle	....	production manager
Gina Vallejo	....	unit manager
Patricia Volcán	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pedro Aguilera	....	assistant director
Renan Bendersky	....	second assistant director
Amat Escalante	....	assistant director
Alex Ezpeleta	....	first assistant director
Frederic Henocque	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Jorge Gareis	....	assistant art director
Guillermo	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Jaime Baksht	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sergio Diaz	....	sound designer
Sergio Diaz	....	supervising sound editor
Enrique Garcia-Torres	....	assistant sound editor
Juan Antonio Gomez	....	foley mixer
Martín Hernández	....	sound designer
Martín Hernández	....	supervising sound mixer
Gilles Laurent	....	sound
Alejandro Li-ho	....	sound recordist
Ramón Moreira	....	sound editor
Grégory Noël	....	boom operator
Alejandro Quevedo	....	sound editor
Carlos Schmukler	....	second sound editor
Carlos Zamorano	....	foley artist

Visual Effects by
Juan Manuel Nogales	....	visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Alex Fenton	....	assistant camera
Fernanda Romandia	....	still photographer

Transportation Department
Humberto Cardenas	....	picture cars coordinator

Other crew
Luisa Blanco	....	production assistant
Nohemi Gonzalez	....	production assistant
Paola Herrera	....	location manager
Ximena Perez	....	location manager

Thanks
Juan Angel Cordova Creel	....	special thanks
Alejandro González Iñárritu	....	special thanks
Ernesto Veláquez	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Coproduction Office (presents)
• No Dream Cinema (co-production)
• Mantarraya Producciones (co-production)
• Tarantula (co-production)
• arte France Cinéma (co-production)
• Universidad de Guadalajara (co-production)
• ZDF/Arte (co-production)
• Essential Filmproduktion GmbH (in association with)
• Mackey Co. (in association with)
• Hubert Bals Fund (with the support of)
• Fonds Sud (with the support of)
• Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE) (with the support of)
• Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Communauté Française de Belgique (with the support of)
• Lumière Productie (with the support of)

Distributors

• AmaFilms (2006) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Atlantis Entertainment (2005) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• Bac Films (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Golem Distribución (2005) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Gussi Films (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Intercinema XXI Century (2005) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Look Now! (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Lucky Red (2006) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Lumière Productie (2005) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Neue Visionen Filmverleih (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Primer Plano Film Group (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Tartan (2006) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Tour de Force (2006) (Norway) (theatrical)
• World Cinema (Korea) (theatrical)
• Kojo Pictures (2008) (Australia) (all media)
• Lumière Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Lumière Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Palisades Pictures (2006) (USA) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2005) (USA) (all media)
• Palisades-Tartan Acquisitions (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Pelicanfilms (2007) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Tartan Video USA (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Equipment & Film Design  camera and lenses provided by
• Equipment & Film Design  generator truck

Also Known As:

"Battle in Heaven" - Germany (DVD title), International (English title)
"Bataille dans le ciel" - France
"Eine Schlacht im Himmel" - Germany (TV title)
"Batalha no Céu" - Brazil, Portugal (imdb display title)
"Battaglia nel cielo" - Italy
"Battle in Heaven" - Greece
"Bitka v nebesih" - Slovenia
"Bitwa w niebie" - Poland
"Dystyhismenoi ston paradeiso" - Greece (DVD title)
"Mennyei háború" - Hungary (imdb display title)

Runtime:

98 min | Brazil:126 min (director's cut) | Argentina:98 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

Mexico | Belgium | France | Germany | Netherlands

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Norway:18 | Netherlands:16 | Italy:VM18 | Hong Kong:III | Argentina:18 | South Korea:Limited (original rating) | Germany:18 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:R21 (cut) | France:-16 | Portugal:M/18 | Australia:R | Brazil:16 (director's cut) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (2011) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Coproduction Office

Trivia:

Writer/director Carlos Reygadas shot crowded street scenes in the middle of real crowds. Cameraman Diego Martínez Vignatti sat in a wheelchair and they just pushed him through everyone. Luckily, no one who passed by looked into the camera lens.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the scene where Ana and Marcos are making love, as the camera pans out, a crew member's reflection can be seen in the window.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.15" (2011)

Refreshing (and realistic) proposal for Mexican directors

As a Mexican, it is very exciting for me to find new proposals for Mexican modern films.

Unfortunately, must of the current Mexican movies are taking the same Hollywood recipe: beautiful actors, violence, soundtracks of well known Latin groups... Batalla en el Cielo does not follow this. The director, Carlos Reygadas, is a person that really wants to show what he has in mind, and does not care about considering distracting elements for having a greater impact in the audience.

I am against the use of sex for attracting audience to a film. However, I really think that some (not all) of the sex scenes of this movie were really part of the story. Also, showing sex as it is (not always as idealistic and esthetic as Hollywood has taught us) is an interesting proposal!

I consider that one of the main achievements of this movies is to show many cultural traits of my country:

-The view of the Catholic religion as a resource to erase the mistakes one has made: "you can do whatever you want, don't worry about the effects because God will always help you"

-The notorious gap between rich and poor people: when Ana refers to Jaime's servant as "la gata" in such a despective -but common- way.

-The double morale managed by Mexican: how can a prostitute, as Ana, can be a moral leader over Marcos's acts?

-The informal commerce (Marcos and his wife sold merchandise in the subway).

-The love for soccer (what can I say about that, if I love it?)

-Cheating on your partner

-The lifestyle in Mexico City, with its traffic jams, way people behave in the subway, neurotic people, kidnaps.

All the issues above are part of the Mexican life.

Personally, I consider the following opportunity areas:

-Not all the music that was used was OK. Sometimes it was too "belic" for me , but at least it is according to the scenes and most of it does not follow the marketing intentions to make you buy a soundtrack

-The audio quality should have been improved (it was not easy to understand, even for people used to the way people from Mexico City speak!)

-Some (very few!) parts were too slow... but considering Reygadas's style, I might think that it is part of his professional charm.

I like to see a different proposal. I would recommend this film to people that, at the time that they leave the theater, really want to think about human nature, rather than thinking if it was an erotic or violent film.

I hope my comment has been useful...