Lav Diaz is famous (or infamous) for long runtimes. This one isn't too long (for Diaz's standards) but it is quite long and stretchy. If it was cut down to say, a 3-hour runtime, the story would still be effectively told. Nonetheless, the film still managed to hold my attention. Throw me a movie with a countryside view, a laid-back province environment, a village by the sea, and a green scenery, and I will surely glue my eyes on it.
The movie revolves around the lives of 3 central characters, played by versatile and veteran supporting casts. These central characters I'm referring to are 1) Fabian- a genius turned lunatic 2) Joaquin- a family man indicted for a crime he never committed and 3) Elisa- the perfect example of a strong woman.
It's so hard to choose which of the three characters most affected us, or who most most realistically depicts how sad and cruel society is. Their lives are so colorful that in the turn of events, one can only ponder on how cruel can fate be.
I would give a special shout out to Sid Lucero, who plays Fabian in the movie. Fabian is an interesting character. He was a former law student whose intellect could have made him bar topnotcher. He likes talking about philosophy, conspiracies, politics, history--smart man. But I guess what he had in intellect, he lacked in rational thinking. He ran out of his mind because he was probably eaten by guilt. He was someone who can't control his emotions. And this led him to do crazy things. And this, ladies and gentleman, was very well acted by no less than Sid Lucero. I can't even think of someone else doing the role than him. Then again, Sid Lucero has already proved his versatility and craftsmanship that it's no longer a question.
At first I didn't know what's the relation between Norte and the movie. I found out later on that the film was shot in the northern most part of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Thus, the "North". As to the "end of history" part, well, it could be both literal and metaphorical.
The movie has serious and deep themes which spices up the whole movie. There's murder, poverty, guilt, judgement, incest, hope, faith, longing, remorse...name it. All of these are depicted in the three lives connected to each other by fate.
The no. 1 strength this movie has to offer is the brilliant performances from the actors. They brought the whole story, which is already great by itself, even greater.
