FROM WHAT IS BEFORE

A remote village in the Philippines, 1970 to 1972. At night wailing sounds are heard from the forest, cows are found hacked to pieces, a man lies bleeding to death at a crossroads, houses burn. No one knows who is behind it, and while the inhabitants puzzle, pray and suspect one another, something larger closes in from outside: the military takes up position, and in September 1972 President Ferdinand Marcos declares martial law. In “From What Is Before” (Philippines, 2014), Lav Diaz tells of the end of a community that tears itself apart before the state does.

The film runs five hours and thirty-eight minutes, and Diaz uses the time for his form of slow cinema: the camera stands on an empty landscape until a figure appears in the distance, comes closer and eventually walks out of frame. Out of this patience emerges the picture of a time in which calamity does not begin with one event, but with many small ones. “From What Is Before” won the Golden Leopard in Locarno in 2014. The film was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2014.

Shown at the 2014 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2014 · Film Archive