There was some stiff competition in the line-up at the Venice Film Festival last year — Oscar sensation and worldwide smash “La La Land,” Denis Villeneuve’s exquisite sci-fi “Arrival,” Pablo Larrain’s outstanding “Jackie,” Francois Ozon’s “Frantz” and Terrence Malick’s “Voyage Of Time,” to name but a few. But the film that won the top prize from Sam Mendes’ jury, joining classics like “Rashomon,” “Last Year At Marienbad,” “The Battle Of Algiers,” “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Wrestler” as holder of the Golden Lion, was none of those films.
Instead, it was “The Woman Who Left,” the latest from prolific Filipino director Lav Diaz. His second film of 2016 (weighing in at an always-sturdy four hours, though that was half the length of Diaz’s other film last year, “A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery”) was a black-and-white drama about a woman released from prison after being imprisoned for a crime she didn’t commit, and who sets out for revenge.
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The film’s about to open on May 19th at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and we’re delighted to premiere the exclusive trailer for the movie here at The Playlist today. It’s easy to see why this might have beaten out such storied competition on the Lido last year, and we’d strongly suggest setting aside the time to check it out when it opens in a few weeks. Check the trailer out below, along with the official synopsis.
A woman discovers that, after 30 years in prison, her friend and fellow inmate committed the murder she was accused of, leading to her release and discovery of the man who framed her. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival last year, Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz’s Tolstoy-inspired epic is a story of revenge deferred, “a meditation on the nature of Goodness in a world of deceit and corruption” (Olaf Moller, Film Comment) that functions as a slow-build tale of urban theater and class warfare, and a sensitive expression of family and forgiveness.