Asia

Investigation on the Night that won’t Forget Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

Lav Diaz is always a challenge to watch, so don’t start watching this on a first date. He is the master of slow-cinema, so expect long takes (55 minutes to be precise) and silence. I’d recommend checking out the more Filipino Elegy to the Visitor of the Revolution or even the 7 hour Melancholia before this one. In contrast, Investigation on the Night that Won’t Forget is a documentary centring on Erwin’s story.

Why Watch this Film?

• For another film from the master of slow-cinema – Lav Diaz
• It’s an exploration of spontaneous storytelling and cinema’s role in documenting memory
• There’s a very poetic and cinematic prayer to end the film
• Hear about the struggle against Filipino bureaucracy and politics

The Breakdown

This film opens with the title card: “Part 1: Cradle of Memory”. Erwin sits uncomfortably in a chair in the middle of a small office, framed by a door frame. There are many books piled on his desk as he starts to tell us the story of two of his friends who were murdered in their own home.

The interview is shot in one long 55 minute take. He speaks in a mixture of English and Tagalog, often switching between the two mid-sentence. He pauses every once in a while as he either tries to remember details or to reflect. Erwin is not interrupted for the whole take. We hear all of the story that his memory can recount. He actually states that “it’s good that we are recording as my memory is failing,” emphasising that we only hear what he can remember.

Lav Diaz uses one long take to show the fragility and spontaneity of memory. One minute Erwin is confident in what he says, only to recount the same detail as he remembers more. Erwin’s natural, spontaneous narrative, is evidence that every source is limited. We do not doubt anything he says, but his many corrections and pauses indicate that his memory may have forgotten some details. Lav Diaz presents film as an answer, as he documents Erwin’s story to protect it from further decay.

Conclusion

Lav Diaz’s slow films are a challenge to watch, and this one proves to be no exception. However, where there is a challenge, there is often a reward. In this case, it is a chance to explore memory and narrative; how events are remembered and how they can be reconstructed from the depths of the mind.