1970s Philippines. With its “moderate” four-hour length, this stylistically clear-cut depiction of a cruel era under martial law comes off as rather brief – only, of course, in the context of Diaz’s impressively long prior films. Nevertheless, the maverick writer-director’s latest offering will surprise even loyal fans as it represents his first foray into new genre turf: the musical.
Lav Diaz won’t astound veteran festival audiences with his signature style involving the use of extremely long black-and-white shots, nor will they balk at the excessive footage of his work, which includes the relatively short, four-hour Season of the Devil. This time around, the director, who is unsurpassed for his work with mise-en-scène and for creating ingenious allusions to the reality of his native land, presents a stylistically clear-cut image of the dark period of martial law in the 1970s, a time when armed militias committed crimes against the Philippine population. Nevertheless, the maverick writer-director’s latest offering will surprise even loyal fans, as it represents the filmmaker’s first foray into new genre turf: the musical – but instead of singing, his characters will melodically recite their lines, a cappella of course.
Martin Horyna
234 min / Black & white, DCP
Director Lav Diaz
/ Screenplay Lav Diaz
/ Dir. of Photography Larry Manda
/ Editor Lav Diaz
/ Art Director Popo Diaz
/ Producer Bianca Balbuena, Bradley Liew
/ Production Epicmedia Productions Inc
/ Cast Piolo Pascual, Shaina Magdayao, Pinky Amador, Bituin Escalante
/ Sales Films Boutique
Lav Diaz (b. 1958, Datu Paglas, Philippines). Selected filmography: The Criminal of Barrio Concepcio (Ang kriminal ng Barrio Concepcion, 1998), Batang West Side (2001), Evolution of a Filipino Family (Ebolusyon ng isang pamilyang Pilipino, 2004), Heremias: Book One – The Legend of the Lizard Princess (Heremias Unang aklat: Ang alamat ng prinsesang bayawak, 2006), Death in the Land of Encantos (Kagadanan sa banwaan ning mga Engkanto, 2007), Melancholia (2008), Woman of the Wind (Babae ng Hangin, 2011), Norte, The End of History (Norte, hangganan ng kasaysayan, 2013), From What Is Before (Mula sa kung ano ang noon, 2014), A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (Hele sa hiwagang hapis, 2016), The Woman Who Left (Ang babaeng humayo, 2016)
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