Season of the Devil


Season of the Devil 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. The film has a running time of 234 minutes.

Plot

Lorena 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
Lorena disappears without a trace, prompting her husband Hugo, 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."

Cast

Main cast

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

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.