While the historical scope of From What Is Before is huge, its emotional palette is a bit limited.
From What Is Before(Mula sa kung ano ang noon)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Philippines · 2014
5h 40m
Director Lav Diaz
Starring Perry Dizon, Roeder, Hazel Orencio, Karenina Haniel
Genre Drama
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
The Philippines, 1972. Mysterious things are happening in a remote barrio. Wails are heard from the forest, cows are killed, a man is found bleeding to death at the crossroad and houses are burned.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Diaz's From What Is Before is an enthralling, thought-provoking, elegant and tragic wonder.
The Hollywood Reporter by Clarence Tsui
Whereas there are still long takes aplenty, most of them startlingly exquisite, the film feels, for once, very urgent in relaying the faultlines of real Filipino history.
The endless chaos of nature embodies the abstract threat of imminent destruction; by imbuing these shots with a combination of mystical allure and darker possibilities, Diaz creates a haunting atmosphere that makes it possible to absorb the story even when it slows to a crawl.
The fragile interplay of nature and civilization is best expressed in the way Diaz frequently sets the stage for each scene, allowing us to absorb the contours and details of every location before ever so gradually introducing human characters, looking small and ant-like, into the frame.
Users who liked this film also liked
Lisbon Story
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Portugal • 1994
- Director Wim Wenders
- Cast Rüdiger Vogler, Patrick Bauchau, Teresa Salgueiro, Manoel de Oliveira, Vasco Sequeira, Joel Cunha Ferreira
- Genre Drama, Music
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Mon Oncle
(Mon oncle)
Mr Hulot takes a precious, playful ... and purely premeditated look at modern times...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1958
- Director Jacques Tati
- Cast Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Servantie, Lucien Frégis, Betty Schneider, Jean-François Martial
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Mulholland Drive
An aspiring actress tries to help a woman with amnesia solve the mystery of her identity.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United States • 2001
- Director David Lynch
- Cast Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller, Dan Hedaya, Brent Briscoe
- Genre Thriller, Drama, Mystery
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Howl's Moving Castle
(ハウルの動く城)
A young woman cursed with old age seeks the help of an insecure magician and his companions, who live in a moving castle.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2004
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Tatsuya Gashūin, Ryunosuke Kamiki
- Genre Fantasy, Animation, Adventure
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Inglourious Basterds
Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France...
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, United States • 2009
- Director Quentin Tarantino
- Cast Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger
- Genre Drama, Action, Thriller, War
- Available on fuboTV, Paramount Plus, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Freevee
My American Uncle
(Mon oncle d'Amérique)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1980
- Director Alain Resnais
- Cast Gérard Depardieu, Nicole Garcia, Roger Pierre, Nelly Borgeaud, Pierre Arditi, Gérard Darrieu
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
American CIA agent Napoleon Solo and Soviet KGB agent Illya Kuryakin put aside their differences to stop a criminal organization from creating nuclear weapons.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2015
- Director Guy Ritchie
- Cast Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Luca Calvani, Sylvester Groth
- Genre Action, Adventure, Comedy
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Dunkirk
Hope is a weapon, survival is a victory.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Netherlands, France • 2017
- Director Christopher Nolan
- Cast Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Aneurin Barnard, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, James D'Arcy
- Genre War, Action, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Joker
A failed stand-up comedian is driven insane, turning to a life of crime in chaos in Gotham City.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada, United States • 2019
- Director Todd Phillips
- Cast Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Shea Whigham
- Genre Crime, Thriller, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, TNT, TBS, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Parasite
(기생충)
A poor family lies and schemes their way into the employ of a wealthy household — successfully, but with great consequences.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2019
- Director Bong Joon-ho
- Cast Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Chang Hyae-jin
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
1917
Two British soldiers race to deliver a message that will stop over 1,000 men from walking into a German ambush.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2019
- Director Sam Mendes
- Cast George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq
- Genre War, Drama, Action
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand