When the Waves Are Gone(HKAFF 2022)

Filipino auteur Lav Diaz’s second film of 2022 draws on the likes of The Count of Monte Cristo and Agatha Christie to tell a captivating story of revenge. Set during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody and highly controversial “war on drugs”, the story follows Primo, a former police officer who served ten years in jail. Upon release, Primo immediately becomes obsessed with revenge against his former colleague and master investigator Hermes for his role in locking Primo up. Diaz’s incisive critique of Duterte’s brutal reign is a bleak but enthralling slow-burn tale of two powerful forces on a steady and inevitable collision course.