MOVIE REVIEW: Norte, Hangganan Ng Kasaysayan

History spans over time, where certain moments define the individuals who are involved in as a hero, a villain or whoever decides who plays who.

Norte, Hangganan Ng Kasaysayan (Norte, the End of History) follows a man who commits a murder, an accused and a grieving mother. As the story goes by, we get to see these characters’ integrity tested at their struggles throughout the harsh realities of society, and how it shapes their souls.

Pacing flows feels like real-time throughout. While we usually have time jumps or moving from a certain date and time which gives it a still life feel. Every second was just precise, minimal movements transcended from one scene to another, something like point A to point B., while it may seem slow, it mirrors everyday lives, how every second moves and the dynamics of time.

While the film’s loosely based from Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Lav Diaz and  Rody Vera’s screenplay surfaces on a character-driven in a backdrop of carnage, the consequences that they go through. While Fabian doesn’t get the attention of the police, karma haunted him in a different way, he questioned the purpose of his actions and there’s this love and hate written all over, complexity perhaps? The prison scenes with Joaquin showed us the harsh realities: unexpected enemies, unfair treatment and other misfortunes. Aside from the troubled façade that was present throughout the film, the dialogue carried the film’s theme and the line, “to live is a curse” pretty much tells the whole film in a nutshell, considering the hardships that our protagonists have faced.

Lav Diaz’ direction manifests the human portrait with the character’s struggles at society, giving them to spread out their emotion as well turning the landscapes as character, the backdrop gave more depth and it reflected on scenes that gave them to evoke contemplation and humanistic sensibilities.

In terms of visuals, the cinematography pulled a picturesque frames, giving it a symmetrical framing and despite of the limited shots, it also brings a real-life feel to it, and despite of the limited shots per sequence, the camera moves slowly and gives off a slow, subtle touch where we see our characters and their moments speaking through their expression. The wide shots were well done that were gave an emphasis on the bleak, desolate scope of the film and the scene wherein Eliza with her children stood the cliff, that part had many meanings, for instance, the doubt of existence, purpose and many others. Not to mention, the live sound contributed a poetic touch.

The three leads are on top of their game, breathed their characters through and through, and delivered their lines with conviction. Sid Lucero’s performance as Fabian channeled guilt, doubt and redemption effortlessly, he let his range of emotions flow; Angeli Bayani’s Eliza conjured sorrow through letting her eyes convey suffering and loss; Archie Alemania fleshed out his acting chops and pulled off Joaquin’s victimized soul, showed empathy as an inmate in a tearjerker manner and he was at his top form at the prison sequence. Supporting cast members like Soliman Cruz, Mae Paner and Mailes Kanapi were pleasant surprises and gave their powerful performances.

A 4-hour film may be intimidating to usual moviegoers, but this one is a work truly a work of art, the production team crafted life itself with actual individuals living normal lives just like us. No superpowers, intelligence or wealth, Norte exhibits what raw filmmaking can be in its best.