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Crying Ladies is a 2003 Filipino comedy-drama film directed by Mark Meily based on his Palanca-winning screenplay Bayad Luha.[1] The film stars Sharon Cuneta as Stella, Hilda Koronel as Aling Doray, and Angel Aquino as Choleng, who are hired as professional funeral mourners by a wealthy Chinese-Filipino family in Manila's Chinatown, while they deal with their own personal problems. It also stars Eric Quizon, Ricky Davao, Julio Pacheco, Shamaine Buencamino, Sherry Lara and Raymond Bagatsing in supporting roles.

Crying Ladies
Official poster
Directed byMark Meily
Written by
  • Melvin Lee
  • Tony Gloria
  • Francis Passion
  • Jeanne Lim
  • Jay Lozada
Screenplay byMark Meily
Based onBayad Luha
by Mark Meily
Produced by
  • Vincent Nebrida
  • Jun Reyes
  • Tony Gloria
Starring
CinematographyLee Meily
Edited byDanny Añonuevo
Music byVincent Abenojar De Jesus
Production
company
Unitel Pictures
Distributed byAsian Crush (US)
Digital Media Rights (US)
Release dates
  • December 25, 2003 (2003-12-25) (Philippines)
  • February 20, 2004 (2004-02-20) (US)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryPhilippines
Languages
Box office$132,920 (worldwide)

The film was released on December 25, 2003 in the Philippines as an entry to the 2003 Metro Manila Film Festival where it won five major awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Quizon, Best Supporting Actress for Koronel, and Best Child Performer for Pacheco. It was the Philippines' submission to the 77th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[2]


Plot


After the untimely death of his father, Wilson (Eric Quizon) is tasked by his wealthy Chinese-Filipino family to look for professional funeral mourners who will participate in the funeral rites. Despite the waning popularity of professional mourners, his family insist on hiring them so that his father can have a traditional Chinese funeral.

During his search at Manila's Chinatown, he met Stella (Sharon Cuneta), a cash-strapped mother who recently got out of jail. Despite her initial apprehensions, she agreed to be a funeral mourner after accepting a 500-peso advanced payment from Wilson. Stella tags two of her friends, Aling Doray "Rhoda Rivera" (Hilda Koronel), a former B-star actress who played bits in movies and who frequently wax nostalgia about her former acting career, and Choleng (Angel Aquino), a pious woman who vows to avoid sinning after having an illicit affair with her friend's husband Ipe (Raymond Bagatsing).

During their stint as professional mourners, the three bond and talk about their experiences, struggles, and dreams in life. Stella is sad because of the impending departure of her young son Bong (Julio Pacheco), who will be moving to Cagayan de Oro, along with her former husband Guido (Ricky Davao) and his new wife Cecile (Shamaine Buencamino). She wants to have a decent and stable job so she can reclaim custody and reunite with her son. Aling Doray frequently reminisces about her former career playing bit parts in movies, especially in Darna and the Giants. Choleng is trying to resist Ipe's advances and end their affair and make up for it by doing more religious and charity works.

After the burial of his father, Wilson, who has a tumultuous relationship with his father, decided to forgive him for not being a good father and to start appreciating the good things he has done. He calls Stella to inform her that a Japanese promotion company is hiring entertainers. Stella immediately applies and gets the job, where she becomes a successful karaoke actress. Aling Doray gets an offer to reprise her role in the sequel of Darna and the Giants where she hopes to revive her acting career. Choleng has moved on after ending her affair with Ipe and is now a marriage counselor in her parish.


Cast



Production


Crying Ladies was based on Bayad Luha, a screenplay written by Meily in 2000 as part of his thesis for a screenwriting workshop by Filipino scriptwriter Armando Lao.[3][4] He later entered it into the Don Carlos Palanca Awards in 2001 where it won the Third Prize in Dulaang Pampelikula (Filipino Division). Unitel Pictures producer Tony Gloria read the screenplay and described it as "unput-downable." Gloria offered the lead role to Cuneta, due to their previous collaborations in Dear Heart, P.S. I Love You, and Forgive and Forget. The role of Aling Doray was initially offered to Nida Blanca before she was murdered. Due to her untimely death, the role had to be re-written for Koronel.[1]

Crying Ladies is the first Filipino film that makes extensive use of MILO Motion Control System and also the first Filipino film to be shot on the latest Kodak Eastman 2 film stock. It is the second Filipino movie to be locally recorded and mixed in Dolby SRD 5.1 technology.[3]


Release



Critical reception


Crying Ladies received mixed to positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 13 reviews.[5] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 54% based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6]

The story was praised by several critics. A.O. Scott of New York Times wrote, "Its most winning attribute is a kind of sloppy, unassuming friendliness, a likability aptly reflected in its characters."[7] Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times described the film as "An endearing comedy that deftly blends sentiment and grit and features a clutch of top Filipino stars."[8] Eddie Cockrell of Variety praised Meily's direction and the cast's performance: “Crying Ladies moves smartly and evenly under the direction of debut helmer Mark Meily. Perfs sparkle, with each thesp comfortable navigating between broad comedy and legitimate pathos."[9]

The film received some negative reviews. Mark Holcomb of Village Voice criticized the editing, but still praised the film, particularly Cuneta's performance: "Cuneta delivers an engaging, surprisingly coarse performance, considering her onetime Philippines-sweetheart status, and the subtle revelations concerning ritual and loss in Meily’s story serve her well. More judicious editing was surely called for, but Crying Ladies succeeds as first-rate melodrama."[10] V.A. Musetto, writing for New York Post, also criticized the film: "There aren't many surprises as the story unfolds in soap-opera fashion, with a happy ending for all concerned."[8]


Music



Soundtrack


Crying Ladies: Official Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
ReleasedDecember 25, 2003
GenrePop/rock, R&B, OPM
LabelUnitel

Crying Ladies was accompanied with a soundtrack during its theatrical release for the promotion of the album. The album contains pop/rock, R&B and OPM songs from various artists such as Kuh Ledesma, South Border and Parokya ni Edgar.[11] It's carrier single Rainbow became a radio smash hit in 2004.

Crying Ladies: Official Soundtrack
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Rainbow"South Border 
2."Idlip"Barbie's Cradle 
3."Inner Strength (Love & Faith)"Aliya Parcs 
4."Magbabago"Parliament Syndicate 
5."My Imagination"All-Star 
6."Stay"Boom Dayupay and Angel Jones of Kulay 
7."With You Around"Art Strong 
8."Para Sa Iyo"Serendipity 
9."Goodbye"604 
10."Father"Kuh Ledesma 
11."Madapaka"Parokya ni Edgar 

Accolades


Year Award-Giving Body Category Recipient Result
2003 Metro Manila Film Festival[12] Best Picture Crying Ladies Won
Best Director Mark Meily Won
Best Actor Eric Quizon Won
Best Supporting Actress Hilda Koronel Won
Best Child Performer Julio Pacheco Won
2004 FAMAS Awards Best Actor Eric Quizon Nominated
Best Actress Sharon Cuneta Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Hilda Koronel Nominated
Best Director Mark Meily Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Gawad Urian Awards Best Picture Crying Ladies Nominated
Best Director Mark Meily Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Eric Quizon Nominated
Julio Pacheco Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Hilda Koronel Nominated
Sherry Lara Nominated
Best Screenplay Mark Meily Nominated
Best Editing Danny Añonuevo Nominated
Best Cinematography Lee Meily Won
Best Production Design Norman Regalado Nominated
Best Music Vincent De Jesus Nominated
Best Sound Danny Añonuevo Nominated
FAP Awards Best Supporting Actor Eric Quizon Nominated
Kerala International Film Festival NETPAC Award Mark Meily Won
Golden Crow Pheasant Nominated
Silver Crow Pheasant Won

See also



References


  1. Lo, Ricky (October 13, 2003). "Crying Ladies is Tony's 'gloria'". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. "All The Filipino Entries to The Oscars Through The Years". Esquire Philippines. March 5, 2018. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  3. Jazmines, Tessa (December 14, 2003). "Ad vets take on 'Crying Ladies'". Variety. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  4. Hau, Caroline S. (2005). "Conditions of Visibility: Resignifying the "Chinese"/"Filipino" in "Mano Po" and "Crying Ladies"" (PDF). Philippine Studies. 53: 491–531.
  5. "Crying Ladies". Rotten Tomatoes. 2003. Archived from the original on September 7, 2004. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  6. "Crying Ladies 2004". Metacritic. 2004. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  7. Scott, A.O. (February 20, 2004). "Crying Ladies". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 30, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  8. "Crying Ladies Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. 2003. Archived from the original on July 23, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  9. Cockrell, Eddie (September 27, 2004). "Crying Ladies". Variety. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  10. Holcomb, Mark (February 10, 2004). "Film". Village Voice. Archived from the original on September 15, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  11. "Crying Ladies (2003) Soundtrack". IMDb. November 22, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  12. "Metro Manila Film Festival:2003". IMDB. Retrieved 2014-04-09.




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