Bart Guingona

Like some of the best 19th-century novelists, Lav Diaz is a genius at interweaving multiple stories to create a truly expanded canvas of characters, landscapes and social and political struggle. In this masterpiece, three strands oppose each other and then, in an impressive arc, fall into parallel.

Stuck with a massive debt after falling for a scam, two wannabe socialites create elaborate fake identities to swindle the rich out of their money.

A doctor scours his family's occult history for a way to prevent his fiancee's death, only to find secrets that link to a series of 19th-century murders.