“Storm Children (Mga Anak ng Unos), Book One”
US trade publication Variety has given Lav Diaz’s documentary “Storm Children (Mga Anak ng Unos), Book One” a rave review. Critic Ronnie Scheib describes the docu on children displaced by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Tacloban as “slow but striking.” He notes: “Diaz’s magnificent compositions frame children at work and at play amid utter devastation … . The abstract minimalism and ponderous stasis of Diaz’s camerawork … give a strangely timeless feel that complements its stark beauty.”
Earlier, a website that focuses on documentaries likewise raved about “Storm Children.” Daniel Walber of nonfics.com wrote: “Diaz is interested in destruction but not exploitation, the prosaic lives of his subjects rather than the harsh poetry of their misfortune … the film’s final images are resoundingly complex, beautiful and confusing at once.” Walber saw the film as part of the Documentary Fortnight at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where it was screened on Feb. 14 and 16. Bayani San Diego Jr.