Season of the Devil

The latest film by one of most eccentric filmmakers in contemporary cinema, Lav Diaz, competed for the Golden Bear in Berlin this year. While continuing to reflect on his country's difficult history, the Filipino master of slow cinema has made a four-hour a capella musical, which is also unusual in that it is set during the period of martial law introduced by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972-1981. A doctor named Lorena arrives in a Filipino village shrouded in fog, eager to help the poor and the sick. However, there are militia-supported by the locals-in the area, and she goes missing without a trace. Her husband, Hugo-a poet who describes the beautiful country facing dark times-sets out to find her. The plot is just a pretext, however, as it provides a stage for presenting Larry Manda's elaborately composed cinematography and songs written by Diaz himself-who also edited the film-in the fairy-tale atmosphere of this bizarre musical spectacle. Diazdedicated Season of the Devil to the victims of the Marcos regime.