Melancholia
Lav Diaz, PH 2008Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing: Lav Diaz; Cast: Angeli Bayani, Perry Dizon, Malaya, Roeder Camanag. DCP, b/w, 450 min. Filipino with English subtitles
"Why is there so much sadness and too much sorrow in this world? Is happiness just a concept? Is living just a process to measure man's pain?" Lav Diaz asked these three questions at Melancholia's premiere at the Venice International Film Festival where his outstanding film won the top prize in the secondary competition Orizzonti. On the one hand, the film is a poetic continuation of Diaz's aesthetic: Epic run time and detailed observation allow for true-to-life immersion in the fate of the protagonists. Here, these are a prostitute, her pimp, and a nun whose existence in a beautiful North Philippine province literally turns out to be trauma therapy. What remains of the wish for revolution? On the other hand, Melancholia becomes a self-critical examination: Nothing is what it seems – a nation's spiritual uprooting and doubts are revealed in layers. (C.H.)
30-minute break after approx. 215 min
Screening dates:
