critics consensus

Its four-hour length is undeniably imposing, but Norte, the End of History rewards patient viewers with an absorbing, visually expansive viewing experience. Read critic reviews

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Norte, the End of History Photos

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Movie Info

An innocent man (Archie Alemania) goes to prison for murder while the real killer (Sid Lucero) goes free.

Genre:

drama
Original Language:

Tagalog
Director:

Lav Diaz
Producer:

Raymond Lee
Writer:

Lav Diaz, Rody Vera
Release Date (Theaters):

Jun 20, 2014 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Aug 10, 2016
Runtime:

4h 10m

Cast & Crew

Sid Lucero
Fabian

Angeli Bayani
Eliza

Archie Alemania
Joaquin

Soliman Cruz
Wakwak

Mailes Kanapi
Hoda

Hazel Orencio
Ading

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Norte, the End of History

All Critics (40) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (3)

Powerful and humbling, this 2013 drama is worth every minute you're willing to give it.

September 4, 2014 | Full Review…

J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
A political and spiritual parable, but related with such subtle realism and incantatory rhythms that it is far more mysterious than didactic.

August 28, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Peter Keough
Boston Globe
If the movie's universal themes don't impress, its specific details do.

August 7, 2014 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Mark Jenkins
Washington Post
As is often the case with three-hour-plus projects, a sense of Stockholm Syndrome kicks in, leaving us happy to roll along with real-time rhythms of meals and walks and chores.

July 25, 2014 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

Tara Brady
Irish Times
Moments are electrifying - the spaces between them challenging.

July 20, 2014 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
Diaz is dealing with primal emotions in a contemplative, visually striking way.

July 18, 2014 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Geoffrey Macnab
Independent (UK)
Superbly shot and featuring a host of interesting characters, it echoes a type of intelligent, painstaking cinema from a bygone era.

August 30, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
For those willing to give Diaz's film a chance, Norte will provide one of the year's best viewing experiences.

June 18, 2019 | Rating: 8.2/10 | Full Review…

C.J. Prince
Way Too Indie
Norte, the End of History offers no easy answers nor happy endings. Instead, we're deftly (and sensually) immersed in the lives of these desperate souls, where contentment -- let alone justice -- is a luxury few can afford.

April 2, 2019 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

Daniel Green
CineVue
Most directors would let the medium be subservient to the rich storyline but not Diaz who elevates and elucidates the themes of the narrative through full mastery of his craft

December 2, 2018 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro
Diaz's embrace of a mobile camera and exploitation stories suggests that "contemplative" cinema has probably never really been a reproof to Hollywood spectacle and suspense, so much as it's been an extension of spectacle by other means.

October 26, 2018 | Full Review…

David Phelps
MUBI
It's a monumental achievement: a four-hour film you wish could be longer.

September 6, 2018 | Full Review…

Charles Mudede
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

View All Critic Reviews (40)

Audience Reviews for Norte, the End of History

Jun 04, 2015

Diaz uses mostly long shots to make a clinical study of guilt and the nature of evil, but after a solid build-up in the first hour the film is slowed down by long passages where nothing much happens and its poetic attempt at an end is frustrating in its refusal to bring the story to an actual conclusion.

Carlos M Super Reviewer