Watch: 2010 Carlos Reygadas Short 'This Is My Kingdom'

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by Ken Guidry
February 8, 2013 12:58 PM
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Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas has developed quite the reputation over the years. The auteur is best known for his films “Battle in Heaven,” “Silent Light,” and his latest, “Post Tenebras Lux.” His last film actually won him the Best Director prize at Cannes last year despite it being perceived as a disappointment by many (including one of our own). In 2010, he contributed a short to an anthology film called “Revolucion,” and it has made its way online. “Revolucion” featured ten short films from ten different Mexican directors, including Rodrigo Garcia, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Diego Luna. Each film deals with the concept of revolution and how it pertains to the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

Reygadas’ short, “This is My Kingdom,” is shot documentary-style and features a gathering of locals throwing a raucous party featuring loud music and plenty of booze. In the midst of the party, the guests start throwing random objects, like bricks, at an already beat-up car with the intent to destroy it. Eventually, as the day goes by, the party culminates with the destruction of everything within sight, signifying the destructive nature of a revolution.

It’s a very interesting piece from the acclaimed filmmaker, and you can check out the whole thing below. Meanwhile, “Post Tenebras Lux” is set to hit U.S. theaters on May 1st. [The Seventh Art]

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William Garcia | April 14, 2013 7:04 AMReply

Thanks so much for sharing Reygadasâ short. Master of deadpan facetiousness (especially when representing the abyss between the have and have not), Reygadas creates films that are visually luscious and profound post-modern reflections of national identity (Battle in Heaven). The bits of conversations throughout the short, especially those of upper-middle class characters, are very sardonic on the directorâs part, in a way opening the door for the violence that explodes later. The revolution is destructive indeed for those playing with their cell phones and getting over the jetlag after returning from European trips, but for the have nots, there is nothing to lose. The short made me think of Gael GarcÃa Bernalâs DÃ©ficit (2007), also shot in the small city of TepoztlÃ¡n (where many from the upper crust of Mexico City escape to relax on weekends).