Lav Diaz?famous for his epic running times, long takes and slow-paced stories?is back with a new feature inspired by Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. This epic about crime, guilt and salvation starts in a small village called Norte. Fed up with corrupt society and empty talk about lost justice, Fabian kills a moneylender. However, Joakin, who borrowed money from the victim, is wrongly convicted of the crime and receives a life sentence. His wife Eliza, who suddenly lost her husband, doesn’t know how she’s going to raise her children from now on. Fabian then starts helping Eliza out of trouble. The film is reminiscent of the director’s debut feature, The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion, in that it is an epic focused on the sense of guilt and the hope for salvation. It allows the audience to experience a strong storyline and the director’s mature consciousness as an author. (CHO Young-jung)