Overview
A gripping tale of crime and consequence unfolds as lives are irrevocably altered by a single act of violence.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Glacial
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Moderate
- bleak
- contemplative
- melancholic
- focused arthouse viewing
- film festival programming
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Lav Diaz's expansive, formally rigorous slow-cinema crime drama as a major achievement, while acknowledging that its philosophical dialogue can feel heavy-handed.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Joaquin is imprisoned for Magda's murder while Fabian, the actual killer, remains free and increasingly unmoored.
Fabian's atheistic and anarchistic arguments are shaped by despair over the Philippines' history of failed revolutions and unpunished crimes.
The film's four-hour-plus runtime, expansive takes, minimal close-ups, and very few camera movements are central to its form.
Fabian, Eliza, and Joaquin experience the crime's consequences from radically different positions: perpetrator, struggling caregiver, and wrongfully imprisoned husband.
Films like Norte, The End of History, and why
The Sacrifice
shared slow cinema duration, philosophical dialogue, social despair, and institutional critique
Sátántangó
shared extended takes, austere pacing, moral ambiguity, and bleak social observation
The Shawshank Redemption
shared long-form prison drama, wrongful conviction, and compassionate attention to marginalized lives
The Woman Who Left
shared political disillusionment, betrayal, and formally rigorous Filipino social realism
Movie Details
- Director
- Lav Diaz
- Release Date
- 2014-03-11
- Runtime
- 250 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (65)
Cast
- Sid Lucero
- Angeli Bayani
- Archie Alemania
- Soliman Cruz
- Hazel Orencio
- Mae Paner
- Perry Dizon
- Moira Lang
- Ian Lomongo
- Mailes Kanapi
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Norte, The End of History about?
- A monumental Filipino crime drama traces the collateral damage of a murder across a wrongfully imprisoned husband, his struggling wife, and the ideologically disillusioned killer who escapes justice.
- What is Norte, The End of History like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Norte, The End of History as glacial, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Norte, The End of History violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Norte, The End of History as moderate.
- What did critics think of Norte, The End of History?
- Critics broadly regard Lav Diaz's expansive, formally rigorous slow-cinema crime drama as a major achievement, while acknowledging that its philosophical dialogue can feel heavy-handed.
- Which films are like Norte, The End of History?
- Films with a similar feel include The Sacrifice, Sátántangó, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Woman Who Left.
- How long is Norte, The End of History?
- Norte, The End of History runs 250 minutes.
- Where can I watch Norte, The End of History?
- In United States, Norte, The End of History is available to rent or buy from Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube.
