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25 Alternative 2011 TIFF Picks: Lav Diaz’s Century of Birthing
The guy known for the longest average film-length of any active filmmaker may have actually lowered said average with this relatively modest six hour-long film, but it’s awfully dismissive to simply write him off as a high-brow spectacle. Combining performance art, an utmost humanism, and the frankest portrayals of duration that the cinema has ever seen, Lav Diaz is the Thanksgiving meal of film festival offerings.
Director: Lav Diaz
Cast: Angel Aquino, Joel Torre, Perry Dizon, Hazel Orencio, Angeli Bayani
Distributor: Rights Available
Buzz: Hearts skipped beats when the title was revealed for this newest Lav Diaz work. ‘Oh lord, he’s finally done made a hundred year-long movie’. The guy known for the longest average film-length of any active filmmaker may have actually lowered said average with this relatively modest six hour-long film, but it’s awfully dismissive to simply write him off as a high-brow spectacle. Combining performance art, an utmost humanism, and the frankest portrayals of duration that the cinema has ever seen, Lav Diaz is the Thanksgiving meal of film festival offerings. It’s an awfully exorbitant serving, but boy do you crave it every day thereafter.
The Gist: A filmmaker battles with film festival programmers, his girlfriend, and the media in order to retain his un-doctored vision. Coming from a filmmaker who hasn’t brought us a film this short (it’s 6 hours long!) since 5 features ago, this is clearly a self-referential vent akin to Hong Sang-soo’s comparatively brisk portraits of artists in turmoil. Reportedly Diaz’s most beautiful work yet, this will almost certainly never be accessible in North American again after TIFF – just like all of his other marathons.
TIFF Schedule: Saturday September 10 AMC 5 12:30pm
Sunday September 18 AMC 4 12:30pm
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