Battle in Heaven (2005)

Marcos lusts after his boss's promiscuous daughter, but after botching an extortion scheme, he becomes wracked with guilt.

Director:

Carlos Reygadas

Writer:

Carlos Reygadas

Stars:

Marcos Hernández, Anapola Mushkadiz, Bertha Ruiz

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited 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:
Michelle Aizpuru	...	Adolescentes que llegan de fiesta
Valeria Alvarez	...	Ninos que juegan

Storyline

A working-class man named Marcos and his wife kidnap a baby for ransom money, but it goes tragically wrong when the infant dies. In another world is Ana, the daughter of the general for whom he drives, who does sexual acts to any man for pleasure. Marcos confesses his guilt to her in his troubled search for relief, and then finds himself on his knees amid the multitude of believers moving slowly toward the Basilica in honor of the Lady of Guadalupe.

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Plot Keywords:

unsimulated blow job | erect penis | unsimulated oral sex | title based on the bible | infidelity | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Mexico Belgium France Germany Netherlands

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

26 October 2005 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Battle in Heaven

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

€1,601,792 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,306, 19 February 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$70,899, 25 June 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Coproduction Office, No Dream Cinema, Mantarraya Producciones

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 126 min (director's cut) 98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the US theatrical poster hair was digitally added to cover the breasts of Anapola Mushkadiz.

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Goofs

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.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Cinema Today and the Future (2011)

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Soundtracks

La Crema
(uncredited)
Written and performed by Big Metra

User Reviews

This Is An Art Film

This is an art film, or at least what the average movie goer will view as an art film. By that, I mean you're going to have to dig really deep to find a plot that you can follow. The scenes are too obviously artistic...a tear drop, a blank stare, holding of hands.

The movie is about a man who is struggling with the guilt of having kidnapped a child who died. I'm not worried about giving away any spoilers because I'm not sure there are any to give away. The movie is a sequence of scenes that make you wonder why they are in the film, and frustratingly so because you really never find out.

American audiences especially will be shocked by the sex scenes. I'm not saying that's good or bad. We just rarely see a penis in a movie, aside from porn, let alone an erect one, let alone someone interacting with one.

The reason I gave this move a 5 is based entirely on its style. The characters often stare at each other with blank faces but they are consistently unemotional. The characters look like real people plucked right off a Mexico City street. The sounds in the film are interesting and graphic, sometimes noisy. But it works to keep you in the film. The filming in Mexico City creates an interesting backdrop. You're just dying for a story to be drawn from it but it never emerges, at least not a good one.