THE WOMAN WHO LEFT

Winner of the prestigious Golden Lion award at Venice, Lav Diaz's Tolstoy-inspired morality tale is a devastating saga of vengeance and forgiveness.

Horacia, a patient and generous woman, has served 30 years in prison for a murder she didn't commit. Informed of the identity of the man who framed her, she devises a strategy for exacting revenge. But as her plans entangle her in the lives of various social outcasts, Horacia's compassionate inclinations begin to subsume her quest for justice.

Loosely based on a short story by Leo Tolstoy, this new work by Lav Diaz (A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery, MIFF 2016) marks a return to his investigation of the Philippines' recent past; its depiction of the crime-ridden Manila of the 1990s a canvas for a sprawling, monochrome examination of human cruelty and kindness. Featuring a stunning central performance by Charo Santos-Concio, The Woman Who Left was the recipient of the top prize at the 2016 Venice Film Festival.

'A vast, dark behemoth of mystery and anguish, as forbidding as a starless night sky.' – The Guardian