Norte, The End of History 07202014

At the onset of the film, one can immediately feel that Norte, The End of History is not an ordinary film. With dialogues on philosophy centering on morality, revolutions, and the fate of the nation, one will immediately be mentally alert for what is to come in the film's narratives. Spanning four hours in length, the film explores the current state of the Philippines and provides a theory on the unequal wealth distribution, the unreliable judicial system, and social disintegration and eventual decadence.

Fabian (Sid Lucero) quits law school despite constant encouragement from friends and his sister to continue his studies since they believe in his intellectual prowess and in his passion for reforms. Heavily in debt to a moneylender (Mae Paner) whom he sees as capitalism personified for the latter's lack of compassion to people who owe her money and for her manipulative ways to extort more from the poor, Fabian kills her and her teenage daughter one day. The blame is pinned on poor Joaquin, however, when earlier he visits the moneylender and slams DVDs to her face for her refusal to give back his wife's ring.

The film alternates between Fabian's story and Joaquin's family. It captures how Joaquin's wife Eliza (Angeli Bayani) does her best to raise their children when Joaquin was incarcerated for a wrong he did not commit. Being ignorant of the law, Eliza was not able to make an appeal for her husband, and we also see why the judicial system fails due to incomprehensible procedures which the lay person, or in particular, the uneducated masses, cannot make sense of. It doesn't help that those who have the power to save lives, the lawyers, neglect their duties and ignore the lower classes who have the most need of them. 

While in jail, Joaquin retains his innate goodness and humanity as he strives to help his fellow prisoners. This in contrast to the murderer on the loose Fabian who is slowly being driven to insanity. He rapes his sister and kills his pet dog, disturbing scenes though not explicitly graphic as Lav Diaz chose to show these offscreen leaving much to the audience's imagination. 

In the end, we are told of Fabian's family's background. He and his sister were left in the care of househelp while their parents are working abroad. This is again in sharp contrast to Joaquin's family. Both Eliza and Joaquin decided to stay and rear their own children, prioritizing family over a good life with work abroad. In the end though, Eliza dies in a bus accident on her way back to the North after visiting her husband in jail in Manila. 

Indeed, it is the end of history. The pessimism evoked by the film, that no matter what we do, the extremes will come running after us and eventually destroy the social fabric and eventually, the country.

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Watched this with a fellow volunteer in the Wiki Project. I was having thoughts on whether to watch this or not but receiving an invite from him helped me make up my mind. We chatted a lot on many things, from our dreams and aspirations, to things we want to do, over dinner at Gilligan's in Greenbelt. (I found the servings too small and the beef was tough. HMPH!) It was good to be back in Makati. Just more than two months from the time I resigned from work there, I found the place a bit unfamiliar already. 

On the way home, passing by the same route I used to take after work, I snapped a few photos. The rain, the lights from buildings and cars on a busy street, the sound of the train coming and going... somewhat nostalgic.