, Kathryn shares the reason why everything felt so real. It was because her director, Cathy Garcia-Molina, made her feel the pain of isolation and fatigue on set. She was not allowed to join the cast and crew when they were having fun. She was forbidden from using her phone during breaks to vent to her real-life partner, Daniel Padilla.Cathy would shout at her. She would cry every night on set. She even admitted to almost quitting by the end of the first week of shooting.
But what was a role that Kathryn could leave is the real life of many, many Filipinos. As of the Philippine Statistics Authority’slast Apr 30, there are 2.3 million OFWs, 96.2 percent of which are contract workers like Joy. A third of OFWs are employed in elementary occupations , most of which are female. There are over a million Joys out in the world, fighting tooth and nail just to give their families at home something to eat.
Later on in the film, she meets Alden Richards’ Ethan. He’s a carefree 20-something, a womanizing bartender in Hong Kong. He has three years left before receiving his Hong Kong residency. It’s a seemingly comfortable life, which is a stark contrast to Joy who’s living on a very limited DH’s visa. The two become unlikely friends.
As the pair develop their relationship into a romance, we learn more about Ethan. Despite his facade as a reckless man with a comfortable life, his family situation behind closed doors reveals otherwise.This is a more mature role for Alden as well, and the material lets him show a deeper side to his acting chops. His character’s personal story carried as much weight as the romance, and in Ethan’s vulnerable moments, we see Alden as a dramatic actor, and not just a tutti-frutti leading man.
Vi?” Kakai Bautista’s comedic character Sally bawls one Sunday as the DH gang watch the quintessential OFW film,” It was a humorous scene, but a sincere thought. Vilma Santos’ character in, Lea Salonga was an OFW who almost sacrificed her career for a man. Like many other female OFW characters that precededRead more:This film is an important narrative because of its portrayal of a female OFW.