Season of the Devil

Season of the Devil (Filipino: Ang Panahon ng Halimaw)[1] is a 2018 Filipino musical film directed by Lav Diaz. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival.[2][1] The film has a running time of 234 minutes.[3]

Season of the Devil
Film poster
TagalogAng Panahon ng Halimaw
Directed byLav Diaz
Produced by
  • Bianca Balbuena
  • Lav Diaz
  • Quark Henares
  • Bradley Liew
Written byLav Diaz
StarringPiolo Pascual
Music byLav Diaz
CinematographyLarry Manda
Edited byLav Diaz
Production
company
Release date
  • 20 February 2018 (2018-02-20) (Berlinale)
  • 28 May 2018 (2018-05-28) (Philippines)
Running time
234 minutes
CountryPhilippines
LanguageFilipino

Plot

Lorena (Shaina Magdayao) is a young doctor who opens a clinic for the poor in a remote Philippine village in the late 1970s. The village is controlled and terrorized by uniformed armed men, which the prologue of the film identifies as members of the Martial Law era Civilian Home Defense Forces[4]

Lorena disappears without a trace, prompting her husband Hugo (Piolo Pascual), an activist, poet, and teacher, to come looking for her. Hugo comes to the village and comes face to face with a community "shattered by despotism and violence."[4]

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Reception

Critical reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 6 reviews, and an average rating of 7.5/10.[5]

Variety praised the director for remaining "emphatically his own artist, whether to exhilarating or punishing effect," saying the movie has some "raw, stirring interludes." It however thought that Diaz's editing weakened the film's impact, saying "it’s hard not to wonder what finer rhythmic and tonal variations another editor… might have brought to the table this time."[3]

The Hollywood Reporter called the film a "seething critique about the Philippines’ current trigger-happy president in the form of a 'rock opera.'"[6]

Accolades

Season of the Devil won best film in the Gems section of 58th Festival Internacional de Cine Cartagena de Indias held in Colombia in March 2018.[4]

gollark: This is silly. A good political system should be able to multitask.
gollark: Surprisingly, the server is not entirely from Germany.
gollark: It isn't as if drugs can never cause mental diseases.
gollark: Well, yes.
gollark: I can *slightly* do that, but it takes effort.

See also
  • List of films about martial law in the Philippines
  • Civilian Home Defense Forces

References
  1. "Press Releases: 68th Berlinale". 22 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  2. "Berlin Film Festival Fleshes Out Competition Lineup". Variety. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  3. Lodge, Guy (21 February 2018). "Berlin Film Review: 'Season of the Devil'". Variety. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  4. Guerrero, Kaye (11 April 2018). "Lav Diaz rants against "Duterte, Trump...motherf****rs"". PEP. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  5. "Season of the Devil (Ang Panahon ng Halimaw) (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  6. Tsui, Clarence (20 February 2018). "'Season of the Devil' ('Ang Panahon ng Halimaw'): Film Review | Berlin 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
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