Butterflies Have No Memories is one of the more interesting films I have seen about nostalgia. A woman from western civilization visits her now impoverished birthplace in the Philippines, meeting her friends and family from yesteryear. Her return is marked with a variety of emotional responses from her townsfolk, from being welcomed with open arms, to being glared at with a jealous eye, and neglected by others.

She continuously projects an aura of positivity, while everyone around her is plagued with melancholy and indifference. She returns to a nostalgic place that is dear to her, taking pictures to create and preserve new memories and reminiscing about her past, when everything seemed much better.

These sentiments are more or less understood…

"lav diaz short film"

Here's a film that could conceivably be the best starting point for an "Intro to Diaz" course, on paper. Diaz is never a smooth pill to swallow but it's safe to say his most imposing values lie in his films intimidating tenacious length, Butterflies Have No Memories is touted as a Lav Diaz "short film" though of course, this "short film" is still sixty minutes in the way of length and still bears his soporific sedated determination. Dramatically dry and lusciously laconic, this still encapsulates Diaz despite lacking his penchant for inexorable length making it ostensibly a fine choice for a first Diaz. Though that aside, the ambition and content aren't as viciously prevalent here as…

This is my first film by Lav Diaz, an independent Filipino director who's known for its very long epic films (some last over 8 hours!).
Butterflies Have no Memories was originaly a short (40 minutes) for the annual digital project of the Jeonju International Film Festival.
I watched the director's cut version which lasts one hour.

The shutdown of the mines on a remote island of the Philippines, where the economic crisis has taken over, deeply affected some of its inhabitants, including 3 lonely men, Mang Ferding, a former head of security of the mine, his friend, also a former employee of the mine and Willy, a young man who sells salt bread for a living. While they spend their…

Butterflies Have No Memories is one of the more interesting films I have seen about nostalgia. A woman from western civilization visits her now impoverished birthplace in the Philippines, meeting her friends and family from yesteryear. Her return is marked with a variety of emotional responses from her townsfolk, from being welcomed with open arms, to being glared at with a jealous eye, and neglected by others.

She continuously projects an aura of positivity, while everyone around her is plagued with melancholy and indifference. She returns to a nostalgic place that is dear to her, taking pictures to create and preserve new memories and reminiscing about her past, when everything seemed much better.

These sentiments are more or less understood…

"This is my only remaining asset. One day, we shall be able to use this again. You'll be with me. We'll have money."

Director's cut. I watched this with two friends and actors who have experienced nothing from Diaz before, and who are performing in my next film, Foul Trumpets. I thought Butterflies Have No Memories would be beneficial to show them as my film shares with this a similar world. They found it to be a rather unique independent film, and were quite enamoured by the lo-fi monochrome aesthetic and the formal choices.

Mang Ferding, the former security chief of a now abandoned mine, wallows in nostalgia for better days when he was employed. He gradually persuades his two…