Rent Our Time (2018)

Reygadas fulfilling his promise - Our Time review by TE

This is perhaps the best Reygadas film since his superb debut, 'Japon'.

The scenes between Juan and Ester (played by Reygadas and his real life wife) are riveting in their emotional force. Reygadas likes to challenge his audience and the casting of himself and his wife (Natalia Lopez) gives an uncomfortable edge to many of the scenes, especially since Juan takes self-punishing pleasure in watching Ester have sex with other men.

There is clearly an existential spiritual quest being played out, but human concerns are sandwiched between timeless landscapes on the one hand, and brute animal passions on the other (the bull farm).

For anyone (like me!) with a fascination for all things Mexican, it is also a treat to take in this human tragi-comedy without any reference to drug cartels.

The soundtrack is excellent too.

Unique viewing - Our Time review by AER

OUR TIME. This epic Mexican film directed and starring Carlos Reygadas comes highly recommended. Beautifully filmed and inventive too, I've never seen another film quite like it. It tells the story of a bull rancher/poet and his wife, whose open marriage flounders when she falls in love with one of her extra-maritals and keeps it a secret from her husband. But there's so much more at play in Our Time. Complex, visually stunning, toxic, infuriating, very moving and very impressive, I've never seen a film like this. It's so authentic and immersive. The footage of bulls fighting each other in a mist covered field, children playing games in a drought inflicted lake, a shot from the undercarriage of a taxiing aeroplane, raw and difficult scenes of male toxicity - this was a truly unique watch. Has anybody scene it? It came out on cinemas last year but didn't play at my local arthouse cinema.

Animal Cruelty - Our Time review by JL

This film should come with a warning "Animals were intentionally harmed in this film"...

Whilst looking very promising in its opening scenes (nice cinematography and introduction to characters), my partner and I opted to end viewing this film just 20minutes in when a mule is attacked by a bull... not CGI, but real violence, real anmals... this was used to propel the narrative. Unnaceptable to us and also quite certainly to many other viewers.

Warnings should accompany such releases - Animal cruelty is not an acceptable element of art, just as Bull-fighting is not an acceptable recreational "sport" ...the brief synopsis provided by Cinema Paradiso (presumably from the DVD sleeve or press release) spent it's frst paragraph praising the the director rather than letting potential viewers know that this film was dealing with such subjects - we'd have never selected it if we had known it was about bullfighting or bull-ranching.

I sincerely hope this review helps at least one potential viewer be spared from the distressing imagery captured here.