Norte, the End of History (Tagalog: Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan) is a 2013 Philippine psychological drama film[2] written and directed by Lav Diaz. Lasting for more than four hours, the film explores themes of crime, class, and family.
The film had a limited release in the Philippines on March 11, 2014, and its wide theatrical release on September 10, 2014. It was selected as the Filipino entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.[6][7]
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 Joaquin's money lender gets murdered by a disillusioned law student, Fabian (Sid Lucero), the crime is pinned on him. In prison, he is transformed by misery and solitude.
Left to fend for the family, his wife Eliza (Angeli Bayani) pours all of her strength into battling with despair as she ekes out a living for their children.
The real perpetrator, Fabian, roams free. His disillusionment with his country—its history of revolutions marred by betrayal and crimes unpunished—drives him to the edge of insanity.[8]
Norte, the End of History received critical acclaim, with a "fresh" score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. 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."[9] The film has a score of 81 on Metacritic based on 10 reviews, signifying "universal acclaim".[10]
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."[11]
Neil Young of The 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."[12]
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.[13] The film also was chosen by the International Cinephile Society Awards 2014 as one of the Best Films not released in 2013.[14]Norte was also ranked at #15 at Film Comment's Top 20 Best Films of 2014.[15]
