Melancholia

Lav Diaz’s celebrated portrait of characters working through past traumas shifts between the languid and the lurid.

In the small, rain-soaked town of Sagada in the central Philippines, the paths of three strangers converge.

New to town, sex worker Jenine spends her days walking along rainy streets looking for her place. Habit-wearing nun Rina walks the streets too, collecting donations for the poor. Gravitating towards both women is local pimp Julian, who is eager to procure work for Jenine while provoking Rina along the way.

Unspeakable secrets and invisible wounds bind the trio as they each search for a path to healing.

Curator’s note
Therapy cannot be rushed. It takes time and patience. And that is as true for the trio of characters in Laz Diaz’s Melancholia as it is for those in its audience. It cradles secrets that slowly unfurl at its languidly measured pace.

Often described as a turning point in Diaz’s career, Melancholia is less a change than a foundation post to anchor his unique visual style. Diaz’s languid camerawork and monochromatic cinematography was already established by the time Melancholia released, but from then on, it became his signature.

Melancholia premiered at the Venice International Film Festival where it won the Horizons Award.

– Reece Goodwin, Senior Programmer (Film & Screen Industry)