The Halt

Manila, 2034. After enormous volcanic eruptions the region has been without sun for three years, and a flu epidemic has killed millions. What is left of the population is ruled by a power-mad president while the army carries out killings without number. In that dark, two women from the special forces fall in love, and their path crosses that of a former history teacher now working as a call girl. Lav Diaz built the film in the shape of science fiction, but what it shows is not the future so much as how power operates now; the darkness is a form of government as much as a natural event. Joel Lamangan plays the president, with Piolo Pascual, Shaina Magdayao and Hazel Orencio in the principal parts. It screened in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2019 and was named best film at the Asian Film Festival Barcelona. The record gives the running time as 282 minutes where sources say 276.