''Season of the Devil'' ( fil, Ang Panahon ng Halimaw) is a 2018 Filipino

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Lav Diaz Lavrente Indico Anciro Diaz (born December 30, 1958) is a Filipino independent filmmaker and former film critic. Frequently known as one of the key members of the slow cinema movement, having made several of the list of longest films, longest na ...

. It was selected to compete for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

in the main competition section at the

68th Berlin International Film Festival The 68th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 15 to 25 February 2018. German filmmaker Tom Tykwer served as Jury President. American film director Wes Anderson's animated film ''Isle of Dogs'' opened the festival, becoming f ...

. It won the Grand Jury Prize for Film in the 2019 Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) Awards. The film has a running time of 234 minutes. It won Best Picture at the 58th International Film Festival of Cartagena de Indias, Gems Section.

Plot

Lorena (Shaina Magdayao) is a young doctor who opens a clinic for the poor in a remote Philippine village in the late 1970s. The village is controlled and terrorized by uniformed armed men, which the prologue of the film identifies as members of the Martial Law era

Civilian Home Defense Forces Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

. Lorena disappears without a trace, prompting her husband Hugo (Piolo Pascual), an activist, poet, and teacher, to come looking for her. Hugo comes to the village and comes face to face with a community "shattered by despotism and violence."

Cast

Main cast

Piolo Pascual Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual (, born January 12, 1977) is a Filipino film and television actor, singer, model, and producer. Early life Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual was born on January 12, 1977, in Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center located in Malate ...

as Hugo Haniway *

Shaina Magdayao Shaina Garcia Magdayao (; born November 6, 1989) is a Filipino actress, dancer, singer and model. She is currently working for Star Magic and a talent of ABS-CBN. Magdayao is recognized as one of the country's premiere actresses and prettiest ...

as Lorena Haniway

Supporting cast

Angel Aquino Angel Aquino (born Angelita Velasquez Aquino on February 7, 1973) is a Filipino film and television actress. She is currently part of ABS-CBN's contract talents. She is mostly known for her lead antagonist roles such as Ether in '' Encantadia: ...

as Anghelita *

Pinky Amador Pilar Cristina Roxas Amador (born 16 March 1966), commonly known by her stage name Pinky Amador, is a Filipina actress, singer, commercial model and TV host. Amador was in the original London cast of the Cameron Mackintosh musical hit ''Miss S ...

as Kwago *

Bituin Escalante Bituin Escalante (born April 23, 1977) is a Filipina singer and actress. She is considered the Philippines' best female vocalists having been active since 2000, and notably due to the success of her Himig Handog Himig Handog (Eng: A Musical Of ...

as Kwentista * Hazel Orencio as Teniente * Bart Guingona as Paham * Joel Saracho as Ahas

Reception

Critical reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . ''Variety'' praised the director for remaining "emphatically his own artist, whether to exhilarating or punishing effect," saying the movie has some "raw, stirring interludes." It however thought that Diaz's editing weakened the film's impact, saying "it’s hard not to wonder what finer rhythmic and tonal variations another editor… might have brought to the table this time." ''The Hollywood Reporter'' called the film a "seething critique about the Philippines’ current trigger-happy president in the form of a 'rock opera.'"

Accolades

''Season of the Devil'' won best film in the Gems section of 58th Festival Internacional de Cine Cartagena de Indias held in Colombia in March 2018. The film led the 2019 FAMAS Awards with the most number of nominations, including nods for best picture and best director, and four for best supporting actress for Shaina Magdayao, Bituin Escalante, Pinky Amador, and Hazel Orencio. It won the award for best sound for sound designer Corinne de San Jose and was given the Grand Jury Prize for Film, an honor it shared with Whammy Alazaren's ''Never Tear Us Apart''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Season Of The Devil 2018 films 2010s musical films Philippine musical films Filipino-language films Films directed by Lav Diaz