A remote barrio in the Philippines seems far removed from the political turmoil under President Marcos, but here too, life in the early 1970s slowly became disordered. Mysterious events throw their shadow into the future. A hut that burns in the night, cows hacked to death, a man dead in the road. The people trust a priest and a traditional healer and are startled by an army unit and other armed figures. Marcos announces a state of emergency. Peasant labourer Sito, one of the last to remain in the area, wonders if he’s wise or crazy.
The films of Lav Diaz are always as long as they need to be. From What Is Before lasts for 5 1/2 hours and is a return to Diaz’s familiar black-and-white. Loosely based on true events yet with symbolic elements, it unfolds as a modest epic against the background of impressive nature. Golden Leopard in Locarno.
See also Diaz’s Storm Children – Book One, also in the Spectrum section.
Film details
- Country of production
- Philippines
- Year
- 2014
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2015
- Length
- 338'
- Medium/Format
- DCP
