Criterion, the cherished American home video distribution company focused on classic and contemporary films, has announced the Blu-ray and DVD release of Japón, the 2002 debut feature by acclaimed Mexican director Carlos Reygadas, in March.
The film follows a man (Alejandro Ferretis) who travels from Mexico City to an isolated village to commit suicide; once there, however, he meets a pious elderly woman (Magdalena Flores) whose quiet humanity incites a reawakening of his desires.
Recruiting a cast of non-actors and filming in sublime 16 mm CinemaScope, Reygadas explores the harsh beauty of the Mexican countryside with earthy tactility, conjuring a psychic landscape where religion mingles with sex, life coexists with death, and the animal and spiritual sides of human experience become indistinguishable. A work of soaring ambition and startling visual poetry, Japón is an existential journey through uncharted cinematic territory that established the singular voice of its director.
The director-approved special edition features a new 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Reygadas, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray; a new conversation between Reygadas and filmmaker Amat Escalante; a video diary shot by actor Alejandro Ferretis during the film’s production; Maxhumain, a short film directed by Reygadas in 1999; a deleted scene; the trailer; and a new essay by novelist Valeria Luiselli.
