Norte, the End of History

Norte, the End of History
Philippine theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lav Diaz
Produced by	Moira Lang (Raymond Lee)
Screenplay by	Lav Diaz Rody Vera
Story by	Rody Vera Michiko Yamamoto Raymond Lee
Starring	Sid Lucero Angeli Bayani Archie Alemania Angelina Kanapi Soliman Cruz Mae Paner Hazel Orencio
Music by	Perry Dizon
Cinematography	Lauro Rene Manda
Edited by	Lav Diaz
Production company	Wacky O Productions, Kayan Productions, Origin8 Media
Distributed by	Cinema Guild
Release dates	23 May 2013 (2013-05-23) (Cannes) 10 September 2014 (2014-09-10) (Philippines)
Running time	250 minutes[1]
Country	Philippines
Language	Tagalog English

Norte, the End of History (Filipino: Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan) is a 2013 Filipino drama film written and directed by Lav Diaz. Lasting for more than four hours, the film explores themes of crime, class, and family.

Screened at the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival,^[2] as well as the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, the main slate of 2013 New York Film Festival, and the Masters section of the 2013 San Diego Asian Film Festival,^[3] the film has received wide acclaim for its riveting storytelling and unique cinematography. The film also won four awards including Best Picture and Best Actress at the 2014 Gawad Urian Awards.^[4]

The film had a limited release in the Philippines on 11 March 2014 and its wide theatrical release on 10 September 2014. It was selected as the Filipino entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.^[5][6]

Plot

The lives of three people take a turn when one of them commits a crime.

Joaquin (Archie Alemania) is failing miserably at providing for his family. When his money lender gets murdered, the crime is pinned on him. Misery and solitude transform him in prison.

Left to fend for the family, his wife Eliza (Angeli Bayani) pours all of her strength to battling with despair and eking out a living for their children.

The real perpetrator, Fabian (Sid Lucero), roams free. His disillusionment with his country—its history of revolutions marred by betrayal and crimes unpunished—drives him to the edge of sanity.^[7]

Cast

• Sid Lucero as Fabian
• Angeli Bayani as Eliza
• Archie Alemania as Joaquin
• Angelina Kanapi as Hoda
• Soliman Cruz as Wakwak
• Hazel Orencio as Ading
• Mae Paner as Magda

Critical reception

Norte, the End of History received overwhelming critical acclaim, with a "fresh" score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 8 out of 10. The critical consensus states "Its four-hour length is undeniably imposing, but Norte, the End of History rewards patient viewers with an absorbing, visually expansive viewing experience."^[8] The film has a score of 81 on Metacritic based on 10 reviews, signifying "universal acclaim".^[9]

A.O. Scott of New York Times writes, "More than four hours long, filmed in expansive takes with almost no close-ups and very few camera movements, Lav Diaz's "Norte, the End of History" is a tour de force of slow cinema. It is the work of a director as fascinated by decency as by ugliness, and able to present the chaos of life in a series of pictures that are at once luminously clear and endlessly mysterious."^[10]

Neil Young of Hollywood Reporter gave an underwhelming review by saying, "There's little in the way of genuine depth, complexity or nuance here, Diaz instead seeks to convey the illusion of profundity by having various characters throw around weighty social and philosophical verbiage in thuddingly sophomoric fashion."^[11]

At the end of 2013, British magazine Sight & Sound listed Norte as one of the Top 10 films of 2013, tying for the ninth spot with the French film Stranger by the Lake.^[12] The film also was chosen by the International Cinephile Society Awards 2014 as one of the Best Films not released in 2013.^[13] Norte was also ranked at #15 at Film Comment's Top 20 Best Films of 2014.^[14]

Awards and nominations

See also

• List of submissions to the 87th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Philippine submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

References

External links

• Norte, the End of History at the Internet Movie Database
• San Diego Asian Film Festival Website (2013)