Essential Truths of the Lake

• Lav Diaz
• 215 min
• Philippines, France, Portugal, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom
• 2023
• Fiction

The Filipino master is back with an equally part picturesque and brutal portrayal of a country on the verge of collapse, where reality blends into fiction.

In the year 2019, a time preceding the events in When the Waves are Gone (GFF 2023), we revisit the policeman Papauran, tormented by the task of incorporating Rodrigo Duterte's murderous anti-drug policies. To shift his focus, he opens up an investigation into the fifteen-year-old disappearance of Esmeralda Stuart. A case that proves to weigh on him more than expected, the deeper he digs, leading him to the area around the Taal Volcano and the lake of the same name. In Lav Diaz's films, the documentary often merges into fiction. Shortly before filming, the ash around the volcano began to smolder, and its eruption soon became a reality, becoming an integral part of the narrative. Essential Truths of the Lake adds another portrayal of a Philippines in constant flux to an unparalleled filmography that continues to fascinate.

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• Brott
• Våld
• Samhälle
• Drama
• Politik