From What Is Before

From What Is Before is a 2014 Filipino drama film directed by Lav Diaz. The film follows a remote town in the Philippines during the 1970s under the Marcos dictatorship. The film had its world premiere in the Philippines on July 3, 2014, and competed at the 2014 Locarno International Film Festival where it won the main prize, the Golden Leopard.

The film also had its North American premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, under the Wavelengths section. In addition, the film had its Philippine screening held for free on September 21, 2014. The film had its U.S. premiere, as part of the World Cinema section, at the 2014 AFI Fest. The film won Best Picture at the Gawad Urian.

Plot
The Philippines, 1972. Mysterious things are happening in a remote barrio. Wails are heard from the forest, cows are hacked to death, a man is found bleeding to death at the crossroad and houses are burned. Ferdinand E. Marcos announces Proclamation No. 1081 putting the entire country under Martial Law.

Everything became a mess when the Armed Forces of the Philippines decided to camp in the barrio. Or was it already messed up before?

Cast

 * Perry Dizon as Sito
 * Roeder as Tony
 * Hazel Orencio as Itang
 * Karenina Haniel as Joselina
 * Reynan Abcede as Hakob
 * Mailes Kanapi as Heding

Critical response
Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator gives the film an approval rating of 89% based on 9 reviews, with a weighted average of 7/10.