PH Indie Film 'Norte' Named One of the World's Best
prominently in worldwide polls listing the Best Films of 2013.
Directed by independent filmmaker Lav Diaz and starring Sid Lucero,
Angeli Bayani, and Archie Alemania, "Norte" was cited as one of 2013's
top ten films by the British Film Institute's Sight and Sound (ranked
9th), La Internacional Cinefila (ranked 6th), and Artforum (ranked
1st, 7th, and 9th by three of the five critics polled by the
magazine).
James Quandt, senior programmer at the Toronto International Film
Festival, picked Norte as the best film of the year. In a nod to the
recent steady outpouring of cinematic gems from the country, the
Artforum contributor noted that "Lav Diaz's Dostoyevskian mini-epic...
may prove the greatest work of the Philippine New Wave."
A loose adaptation of "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky,
the film premiered to a standing ovation and rave reviews in Cannes
last May. It became that festival's second highest-rated film and has
since been picked up for distribution in France, the US, and the UK.
This means it will enjoy a theatrical release in those countries later
this year.
Here in its home country, the film initially encountered some
difficulty in getting a playdate. A factor that figured in discussions
with cinemas is the film's running time of four hours.
But the length of the film has been more of a plus than a negative to
those who have seen it. Time Out New York's David Fear describes it as
"a movie that approaches (a) marathon-length running time yet still
makes you wish it were twice as long."
Wesley Morris, a Pulitzer prize-winning critic, considers the film "an
honest-to-goodness masterpiece." He recalls his encounter with Norte
in Cannes: "The lights went down, the movie came up, and I sat there.
Two-hundred-fifty minutes later... I stood with tears in my eyes, and
clapped as loudly as I ever have for any movie in my life."
Moviegoers in Metro Manila and Cebu can soon watch Norte, Hangganan ng
Kasaysayan (Norte, The End of History).
Special screenings in select Ayala Malls Cinemas are scheduled for
March 11 (Trinoma), March 18 (Ayala Center Cebu), March 25 (Greenbelt
3) and March 31 (Glorietta 4). All screenings begin at 6:30 PM. The
film will be shown with English subtitles.
To buy tickets in advance please write to pauline@origin8media.com or
lirycpaolodelacruz@gmail.com.
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