The musical sound of anger

Film review: Ang Panahon ng Halimaw

MANILA, Philippines — Lav Diaz’s latest opus is the Globe Studios/Epic Media/Sine Olivia co-production, Ang Panahon ng Halimaw; and as with any Lav film, it requires total commitment and dedicated effort. Watching a Lav Diaz film is almost akin to making an investment in his cinematic vision. And whereas his other films were often allegorical, or couched in metaphors and symbolism, this one is as direct and nakedly angry as Lav can be. 

The only major concession to creating subtext is the novelty of the film being a musical — although without any musical accompaniment. What this means is that by and large, all the lines are sung a cappella or declaimed as poems. And with Lav composing the songs himself, you don’t have to worry about whether this would compete with La La Land, or cause Lin Manuel-Miranda sleepless nights. Discordant, sung more as lamentations, the songs hit us like a Greek chorus in search of musical instruments to soften their blow.

And what is the bee in Lav’s bonnet this time out? Set ostensibly in 1979, during the Martial Law Years, and in a remote barrio in some forgotten province, it’s about how para-military powers and the Filipino penchant for strong-arm politics and leaders will only lead to blatant abuse of civil rights and liberties. The obvious point being is that we live in a vicious circle of repeating our mistakes, and welcoming that very thing we dread, and which we took pains to remove from our lives. The barrio then becomes a microcosm of the bigger reality that Lav would have us confront; and this time, there’s a particular frustration over how we never seem to learn.

Shaina Magdayao as the doctor Lorena who goes missing during a medical mission in a remote barrio.

Regardless of your politics, what the film does display is the work of an auteur in magnificent control of his material. The monochrome cinematography is especially gorgeous when he’s shooting outdoors. The measured pace can be oppressive, repetitive and agonizing for some, but you can’t deny that this is once again Lav doing things his way and asking us to face the challenge. 

The more “commercial” actors in the cast would be Piolo Pascual as a dissident poet, Shaina Magdayao as his wife who goes missing during a medical mission in Barrio Ginto, and Angel Aquino. But if you would ask me who were my standouts in the cast, they would be Bituin Escalante as the Kwentista/Narrator, who makes the strongest impression in terms of singing, and Hazel Orencio as a ruthless, violent female soldier. Along with Noel Sto. Domingo who plays Chairman Narciso — a literally two-faced strongman who pushes the soldiers to wreak havoc on the inhabitants of Ginto — these three are the ones leaving the most lasting impressions. Bart Guingona and Pinky Amador are among the roster of theater thespians who readily “sailed” on this Lav Boat.

At three hours and 54 minutes, this is one of Lav’s shortest films, and I would suspect it’s because on a short fuse — this is the one fuelled by anger and frustration. It’s like in disbelief — he’s asking us why we never seem to learn. And this time, he’s also condemning those who remain silent or watch from the sidelines, for allowing the travesty to be perpetuated.