A Quiet Storm of Emotion and Memory

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MOVIE REVIEW
Where the Night Stands Still (Come la notte)
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Genre: Drama
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 15m
Director(s): Liryc Dela Cruz
Writer(s): Liryc Dela Cruz
Cast: Jenny Llanto Caringal, Tess Magallanes, Benjamin Vasquez Barcellano Jr.
Where To Watch: shown at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival

RAVING REVIEW: WHERE THE NIGHT STANDS STILL is a movie that aims to make you feel something profound, but whether that feeling lands depends entirely on the viewer. It’s built around a quiet, contemplative story about three Filipino siblings, all domestic workers in Italy, who reunite in their late sister’s villa. Throughout a single night, they navigate unspoken tensions, buried emotions, and the heavy weight of a past that refuses to stay buried. The film leans heavily into its minimalist approach—subtle performances, sparse dialogue, and long, lingering shots meant to emphasize everything that isn’t being said. Some will find it poetic; others, like myself, might feel it’s more about aesthetics than storytelling.

One thing that stands out immediately is how much effort is put into making every frame feel meaningful. The cinematography is deliberate, with careful framing that creates a sense of isolation between the characters even when they share the same space. The lighting is striking, playing with contrast to mirror the emotional and psychological distance between them. It’s easy to appreciate how much thought went into the visuals, but at times, it feels like the film is trying so hard to be artistic that it forgets to engage with its characters.

The performances are undoubtedly strong, but the film’s insistence on restraint keeps them from exploring the potential I think was there. Every glance and pause is loaded with meaning, but there are moments where the story would have benefited from more raw emotion. The actors clearly understand their roles and deliver solid performances, but the film seems hesitant to let them fully explore the depth of these relationships.

The film explores displacement, identity, and the lasting effects of colonialism through the lens of a single family. The villa is a perfect metaphor for this—grand, European, and a space that technically belongs to them but never truly feels like theirs. The film does a great job of entwining these themes into the story, making it clear that the characters' struggles are personal and tied to a much larger history.

One area where the film could have developed the siblings' identities further is in developing their identities outside of their shared grief. We get hints of their lives beyond this moment—fragments of their struggles and experiences in Italy—but never enough to make them feel like their own characters. A stronger focus on their journeys would have made their interactions even more compelling, giving more weight to the tension between them.

WHERE THE NIGHT STANDS STILL is undeniably well-crafted, it’s also a film that requires the right mindset to be appreciated fully. It’s not bad—it just didn’t connect with me as it wanted to. Some will see it as a beautifully understated meditation on loss and identity, while others may find it a bit too calculated in its artistry. If you’re drawn to films prioritizing mood and symbolism over direct narration, there’s plenty to admire here. But if you’re looking for something that grabs you emotionally and doesn’t let go, this might not be the experience you’re hoping for.

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[photo courtesy of PELIRCULA, IL MIO FILIPPINO COLLECTIVE, OZONO STUDIO]

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