The need for melodrama
Abstract
Lav Diaz’s cinematographic work is minimalist in terms of direction, but often displays a kind of narrative maximalism, particularly in its relationship with melodrama. By identifying forms of moral exacerbation, tragic excess and physical brutality in several of Diaz’s feature-length films, the aim is to see how the “melodramatic mode” is both an expression of historical trauma and a catalyst for the films’ fundamental impurity.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Cinema History and Criticism
Ethics
Aesthetics
and Art
South Asian Cinema and Culture
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Routledge eBooks
- Pages
- 40–53
- Publication date
- 3 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter