2012 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Carlos Reygadas’ Post Tenebras Lux

Gist: Childhood and adolescence memories, dreams of life, emotions and thoughts of the present existence. It’s a feature film with a loose plot link in its discourse but really clear in its poetics. It is not united by the plot but by the harmony in the expression of the feelings. Basically, life and the universe itself on a strip of celluloid (knock on wood…).

Prediction: Reygadas is a Cannes darling (all of his films have played there), and his new film appears to be the sort of impressionistic tone poem that screams for the centre stage of the Main Competition. By all accounts, this looks like it’ll be this year’s The Tree of Life, and we thank our lucky stars that it wasn’t ready as anticipated last year or the Croisette may well have sunk straight to the bottom of the Mediterranean under the psychological weight of it all. A spiffy-looking website sits patiently waiting to launch, indicating that there will be nothing stopping this mammoth – our most anticipated film of the year – from lighting up the South of France come mid-May.