Kristine Kintana

Lav’s Golden Leopard winner in Locarno is an epic remembrance of a period of transition that marked the traumatic time of dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ rule. The film’s structure unfurls with slow power, growing increasingly complex, political, and emotional over its five-and-a-half hour story.

The Filipino master of slow cinema intertwines a story of impoverished treasure hunters with the tale of a drifting woman coming to terms with a damaged mind and body. Extraordinary handheld camerawork captures the minutest of details, bringing the struggles of life into stark reality.