Norte, The End of History a Dostoevsky-inspired epic

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      Directed by Lav Diaz. Starring Sid Lucero. In English and Tagalog, with English subtitles. Unrated.

      The debt to Dostoevsky is never hidden in Norte, the End of History, a new Filipino film that takes almost as long to watch as reading great chunks of Crime and Punishment. At more than four hours long, the film tackles moral quandaries that have been discussed for hundreds of years, while giving a broad picture of corruption, poverty, faith, and strains of fellow feeling in the modern-day Philippines.

      The bleakly colourful tale, devised by contrarian writer-director Lav Diaz (who more typically works in black-and-white), centres on a self-styled revolutionary called Fabian (Sid Lucero, who was born with the decidedly less tropical-sounding name of Timothy Eigenmann), who spouts sophomoric palaver at his law-student pals about “the end of truth and meaning” in the 21st century. He talks a good game, but has to borrow money to pay for drinks.

      In fact, money trouble leads him to the door of a rural pawnbroker, whose death (along with that of her hapless daughter) will test his nihilistic theories. Unfortunately, the crime falls on local peasant Joaquin (Archie Alemania), already struggling to feed his family after getting injured.

      Our late-capitalist Raskolnikov flees to Manila and cops a philosophically uncool job at a fast-food diner. He’s befriended by his born-again coworkers, leading to a semiconfession. But he’s offended by their suggestion that God will forgive him—and by the idea he still has to actually do the work of redemption.

      Meanwhile, Joaquin rots in prison, a place with arcane hierarchies and pet monkeys on chains. Oddly, the man shows hints of holiness. Or is it calculation? Fabian is increasingly tormented by the false conviction and their paths eventually cross again, but he’s not exactly saved. Along the way, there are strange aerial shots, freighted with incipient storms or otherworldly forces, as well as apocalyptic dream states.

      It’s unclear why so many scenes, especially when peopled by nonprofessionals arranged in stiff tableaux, must last so long. (This is particularly taxing in the first hour.) Still, some bits, such as an unforgettable tracking shot following Joaquin’s wife (Graceland’s Angeli Bayani) and their two young children over a wild, rustic landscape, make the effort worthwhile. The scene is seemingly endless but gathers mystery before reaching a powerful conclusion. The same can be said of the movie.

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