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Battle in Heaven

Original title: Batalla en el cielo
  • 2005
  • Unrated
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
6.8K
YOUR RATING
Anapola Mushkadiz in Battle in Heaven (2005)
Theatrical Trailer from Tartan Films
Play trailer2:00
1 Video
62 Photos
CrimeDrama

Marcos lusts after his boss's promiscuous daughter, but after botching an extortion scheme, he becomes wracked with guilt.Marcos lusts after his boss's promiscuous daughter, but after botching an extortion scheme, he becomes wracked with guilt.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
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.5/10
    6.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Carlos Reygadas
    • Writer
      • Carlos Reygadas
    • Stars
      • Marcos Hernández
      • Anapola Mushkadiz
      • Bertha Ruiz
    • 62User reviews
    • 84Critic reviews
    • 60Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Battle in Heaven
    Trailer 2:00
    Battle in Heaven

    Photos62

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    Top cast57

    Edit
    Marcos Hernández
    Marcos Hernández
    • Marcos
    Anapola Mushkadiz
    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
    Michelle Aizpuru
    • Adolescentes que llegan de fiesta
    Valeria Alvarez
    • Ninos que juegan
    Adrian Arce
    • Jugador Pumas
    Grace Avila
    • Mujer de servicio
    Jorge Bacha
    • Hombre en silla de ruedas
    • Director
      • Carlos Reygadas
    • Writer
      • Carlos Reygadas
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews62

    5.56.8K
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    Featured reviews

    5sandro-santoli

    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.
    9David-M

    Fantastic Film..

    This not an easy picture. It requires Patience and commitment. It's a poetic movie about the urban heaven. About real people. About love and about madness. Reygadas is truly an author. He turns a conventional history in to a great ride through emotions, feelings and in to the overwhelming city of Mexico. Either you love it or hate it, no one comes out of the theater without a comment or a reaction. The movie has the power to move you in a positive or in a negative way. And i guess that something to be thankful about. Mexican films, in recent years, are mostly easy going urban comedies. This totally different. A prove that we can make different stories that reflect the sometimes surreal life of our country. This is one of them. With no professional actors, the movie feels honest and. The cast it's in a very natural level. The Sex scenes are not as important as they seem. Sex is finally a part o who we are, and we are use to see great bodies making love on the screen. It's not easy to see real people doing it, because we may see ourselves in them. And when someone throws your reality at your face, you can hate it. But Batalla En el Cielo does that and even more: Takes that reality to another lever and turns it in to poetry. And that it's just fantastic.
    4FilmCriticLalitRao

    'Battle in heaven' is a difficult film whose events are witnessed on earth by Mexican director Carlos Reygadas !!!!

    It can be said with certainty that all students of cinema would be completely mesmerized by camera angles used in 'Battle in Heaven'. Watching its deft camera work, one can easily say that the film's DOP Diego Martínez Vignatti has been given complete freedom to capture all kinds of emotions from characters' faces as well as from items surrounding them. One important scene shows two actors busily copulating with excitement. It is interesting to observe how the next scene quietly takes viewers out from the bedroom's window to a neighboring area where a television antenna is being installed. This is one positive point about this film's technical prowess. One problem area concerns sex scenes which are not easy to watch. This has nothing to do with prudish attitudes but there is blatant de- glamorization of sex. In mainstream media, sex is glamorized to such an extent that viewers are foolishly led to believe that it looks good only when beautiful, handsome and smart people are engaged in sexual activities. This is one reason why there are not many viewers who would appreciate watching how fat as well as ugly people copulate ? As far as narration is concerned, it is unfortunate that characters have not been developed to a large extent. This might be viewed as a major disappointment by viewers as characters' motivations are not clear. Director Carlos Reygadas works hard to reveal the behavioral traits of people especially in depicting how do people behave especially outside the comfort of their homes. This is one reason why the rich versus poor angle is explored but at a superficial level. As a last work, in spite of its inherent weak points, Battle in heaven can still be considered an average viewing experience as it says a lot by using limited amount of words.
    8kms102

    Refreshing (and realistic) proposal for Mexican directors

    As a Mexican, it is very exciting for me to find new proposals for Mexican modern films.

    Unfortunately, must of the current Mexican movies are taking the same Hollywood recipe: beautiful actors, violence, soundtracks of well known Latin groups... Batalla en el Cielo does not follow this. The director, Carlos Reygadas, is a person that really wants to show what he has in mind, and does not care about considering distracting elements for having a greater impact in the audience.

    I am against the use of sex for attracting audience to a film. However, I really think that some (not all) of the sex scenes of this movie were really part of the story. Also, showing sex as it is (not always as idealistic and esthetic as Hollywood has taught us) is an interesting proposal!

    I consider that one of the main achievements of this movies is to show many cultural traits of my country:

    -The view of the Catholic religion as a resource to erase the mistakes one has made: "you can do whatever you want, don't worry about the effects because God will always help you"

    -The notorious gap between rich and poor people: when Ana refers to Jaime's servant as "la gata" in such a despective -but common- way.

    -The double morale managed by Mexican: how can a prostitute, as Ana, can be a moral leader over Marcos's acts?

    -The informal commerce (Marcos and his wife sold merchandise in the subway).

    -The love for soccer (what can I say about that, if I love it?)

    -Cheating on your partner

    -The lifestyle in Mexico City, with its traffic jams, way people behave in the subway, neurotic people, kidnaps.

    All the issues above are part of the Mexican life.

    Personally, I consider the following opportunity areas:

    -Not all the music that was used was OK. Sometimes it was too "belic" for me , but at least it is according to the scenes and most of it does not follow the marketing intentions to make you buy a soundtrack

    -The audio quality should have been improved (it was not easy to understand, even for people used to the way people from Mexico City speak!)

    -Some (very few!) parts were too slow... but considering Reygadas's style, I might think that it is part of his professional charm.

    I like to see a different proposal. I would recommend this film to people that, at the time that they leave the theater, really want to think about human nature, rather than thinking if it was an erotic or violent film.

    I hope my comment has been useful...
    7christopher-underwood

    Very affecting, bitter sweet movie

    For two thirds of this film I was spellbound and then it suddenly span away from me. Listening to the director speaking afterwards, I think I know what went wrong and I shall have to view again some time to find out. It is all very watchable but slightly confusing towards the end, which is a shame and may be my fault, that of the director or even of Mexico itself. Whilst I have never been to the country it did seem that part of the lifeblood of this movie was the tangled city of contradictions itself. Even though not perfect in my eyes there was enough to show that this is a director of keen and original talent who will produce much more. His liking to work with non actors is welcome and his treatment of actual graphic sex is stunning. Very affecting, bitter sweet movie.

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    Related interests

    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Writer/director Carlos Reygadas shot crowded street scenes in the middle of real crowds. Cameraman Diego Martínez Vignatti sat in a wheelchair and they just pushed him through everyone. Luckily, no one who passed by looked into the camera lens.
    • 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.
    • Connections
      Edited into Samo je zemlja ispod ovog neba (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      The Protecting Veil
      Written by John Tavener

      Naxos Rights International

      Chester Music Limited

      Premiére Music Group

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    FAQ18

    • How long is Battle in Heaven?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 26, 2005 (Belgium)
    • Countries of origin
      • Mexico
      • France
      • Belgium
      • Germany
    • Language
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • 天堂煉獄
    • Filming locations
      • Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
    • Production companies
      • Coproduction Office
      • No Dream Cinema
      • Mantarraya Producciones
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • €1,601,792 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $70,899
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $20,351
      • Feb 19, 2006
    • Gross worldwide
      • $258,227
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 38m(98 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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