When the Waves are Gone
Buy ticketsSlow cinema master Lav Diaz attacks Rodrigo Duterte’s murderous anti-drug policy in the epic police-thriller interpretation of “The Count of Monte Cristo.”
Lav Diaz is not just known for his peerless, poetic images and his political settlements with the history of the Philippines, but also for his lengthy films. At 229 minutes, The Woman Who Left (GFF 2016) was the longest film to win the Golden Lion at Venice and the breakthrough work Evolution of a Filipino Family (GFF 2005) was ten whole hours long. However, When the Waves Are Gone clocks in at a neat 187 minutes, and tells about a policeman who develops skin problems due to the anxiety caused by witnessing the horrible brutality of his colleagues in the fight against the dealers. While his psoriasis heals, the shadows of the past begin chasing him in what becomes a twisting cop thriller with a sense of Michael Mann and Greek tragedy.
- Jonas Holmberg