HISTORY OF HA (Historya ni Ha)
dir. Lav Diaz, 2021
Philippines. 276 min.
In Filipino with English subtitles.

Filipino star and Lav Diaz regular John Lloyd Cruz stars in HISTORY OF HA as a heartbroken ventriloquist who communicates mainly through his puppet. Aimless and unsure of his future amid the uncertainty of 1950s philippines, he unites with a nun (Mae Paner), a sex worker (Dolly DeLeon), and a teenager (Johnathan Fransisco) in a journey towards a distant island rumored to be having a gold rush.

“1957. Hernando Alamada, Filipino vaudeville great and a former socialist cadre, fulfills the last leg of his performing tour on the Mayflower cruise ship. He knows that the Philippines is experiencing a bitter transition yet again; the much-loved and popular president, Ramon Magsaysay, suddenly dies in a plane crash. He arrives in his poverty-stricken barrio, his country’s state and future burdening him heavily, and at the same time, a deep personal turmoil confronts him. He plods on an aimless journey.

Akin to the Filipino ‘bodabil’ \\[Filipino vaudeville\\], he finds himself on the gate of the theater of the absurd, a descent to burlesque, madness, to stark realities, and, ultimately, an ascent to his own redemption.”
— Lav Diaz