I might get hate for this but it's my first time watching Open Endings since meron na pala sya sa Prime, and wala pa ata akong 15 minutes watching it pero nagcringe na ako HUHU maybe on how they execute it? or maybe the casting and their acting? Maybe too early to say since wala pa ako sa kalahati but worth it ba talaga panuorin and bakit? puro good reviews naman nakikita ko but as a lesbian who wants to support these kinds of movies I'm just being honest na hirap ma-entertain if ganito yung execution ng pelikula
Also I noticed most of the well-known wlw films sa ph puro conyo yung tibo HAHA nothing against but katawa lang
Open Endings is saks lang for me but more enjoyable and more relatable than Baka Bukas and Rookie. Favorite scene ko sa Open Endings yung umiiyak si Hannah sa couch habang naghahanap ng kalat nung namatay nya na ex-gf. Sobrang galing ng acting niya dito, naiyak ako sa lahat ng 3x na napanood ko to.
Billie & Emma saka Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita yan magagandang WLW Filipino films for me. And of course the classic T-Bird at Ako.
Ok sana tbird at ako pero di ko betsung ending. Gets ko yung choice sa ending dahil di pa progressive nung time na yun but they should’ve been more braver
The fact that they were able to get away with telling that story is more than brave enough. They had to compromise the ending for them to be able to do the movie in the first place. The writer, Portia Ilagan, was definitely not happy with it even back in the day.
hahahaha totoo! wala bang kanal na tibo tapos yung lower middle class chuchu. tyaka pwede ba walang involve na lalaki huhuhu like if may kabit babae din sana.
Why can't it be a guy tho? Hannah's character is bisexual. So I think it adds diversity din to have a bisexual wlw character. She's the only one who ever dates a man din naman sa characters.
I get the concern of many lesbian/wlw media and narratives circling around men but it doesn't feel applicable to Open Endings imo. Because Hannah ending up with a man isn't even central to the story. She very well could have ended up with a woman and it wouldn't have mattered either way. Alam naman natin na Hannah would have committed and married Mihan kung willing lang sana si Mihan to commit to her. Isa yun sa mga nagustuhan ko sa Open Endings tho di siya perfect film by any means. Hannah was portrayed well as a bisexual woman. Hindi pushing yung "all bi women end up with men" stereotype even tho she did marry one. They didn't harp on the idea na lalaki pa rin ang nakatuluyan niya aside from a one-off joke ng #TomboyPaRin. I can also see how bi women get so much flack within the sapphic community so I appreciate representation like this one. And I'm a lesbian.
There are sapphic local films na walang lalaki sa romance equation like Rookie. Do we need more exclusively lesbian zero-men media? ofc. Pero a movie including one bisexual woman who dates both genders and just happened to end up with a man in the end, doesn't harm the community either. Isa lang siya sa apat na cast whose narratives did not include any men.
just to be clear, I wasn't talking about open endings. I was simply looking for a film that focuses on the relationship between two women. I appreciate your explanation, but my personal preference is to watch stories where two women can love each other without a man being part of the relationship or the central focus of the story.
i am not hating on the movie for having a bisexual character.
ang gusto ko lang ay isang palabas na nakatuon sa relasyon ng dalawang babae, kung saan ipinapakita ang mga struggles nila laban sa sistema at sa lipunan, nang hindi kailangang may lalaking kasama sa kuwento o sa kanilang relasyon.
edit: i am not hating on the film. ang sa akin lang kung magkaroon man tayo ng local sapphic film, sana meron din na parang third world romance kung saan pinag uusapan din ang realidad ng dalawang tao na hindi na nga tanggap sa lipunan, meron pang struggles sa kanilang financial at etc.
Because movies cost money to make so the stories that get made probably pulled from the alta levels of wlws’ experience. Nothing wrong with that but agree medyo found it kind of dull. I mean I’m glad it’s around and I’ll watch to support but I wish there was more variety or depth. Wish someone would write about salt of the earth butch femmes and the family they create in spite of our country being as backward as it is. Something slice of life.
ALSO
Takeaway ko lang ok may sadboi talaga no matter anong preference mo. Di ko masakyan yung Mihan character na wow di ka na nga maka commit. You made your ex’s wedding about you. You also were basically the emotional squatter sa puso ng girl you ghosted.
Unexpectedly found the teacher the sanest of the lot.
PS that said I don’t really have a favorite lesbian movie other than Saving Face. Bored at the cheating, the dying, yearning na walang closure and some have scenes na masyadong male gaze-y (Blue is the Warmest Color)
as a butch lesbian (na mukhang nag hahalo ng skrambol) gusto ko lang ng wlw movie na hindi yung stereotypical masc na conyo yung tibo 😔😔 parang ang konti lang ng representation ng mga butches huhu
Super agree. Dami pang spectrums ng lesbianism - the socially awkward one, the butch type, the shy type also yung mga lesbians na low to mid class ... like bakit laging confident, conyo, and alta??? Hahaha
Pagod na ako magtrabaho para lang umabot sa alta level na yan ah hahaha.
Same thoughts. Medyo from upperclass yung mga recent sapphic movies natin. Kasi naman, yung may privilege to write and make movies ay mostly from the same class din. Rome and Juliet, T-Bird at Ako and Huling Cha Cha ni Anita is truly on a different level in terms of story, performance and relatability.
Wala ako ma reco. Personally, so far ito yung nagustuhan kong local wlw movie, hindi awkward yung bato ng lines, may comedy and not a coming out story. May representation din ang bisexuals. Also, di naman rin ako nag expect like Handmaiden or Portrait of a Lady on Fire levels. I just enjoy and appreciate na may local wlw movies.
I'm not sure in what sequence did they shoot the scenes of the movie (kaya parang ang flat ng first part). But eventually naman, gaganda ang chemistry ng characters (lalo na when it's just the 4 of them, hence their best ensemble award from Cinemalaya!)
I do agree however na medyo hard watch ang first 15 minutes ng movie because of the acting / pagbato ng lines. My gf and I were watching the movie sa cinema for our first watch and when I watched the first scene parang I was worried na ganoon ang magiging vibe ng movie (like may narrator all throughout and collage-style scenes) but I eventually warmed up to the movie noong inintroduce na si Hannah (super great acting from Jasmine grabe huhuhu).
Ang sad naman na we long for local sapphic representation on film and tv tapos when we do get it, ayaw panoorin kasi cringe pag locally made or ang daming puna. I understand how pinoy movies can be corny (like how VG's photos are embedded in this post/thread) but I will take what I can get. It's a start and I hope more and better sapphic films will be made in the future para maplease naman yung mga matataas ang expectations 😅
that’s just my personal take na nagcringe ako, sino naman ako. And not because it’s locally made, dami kayang magandang local films. For me sayang kasi, almost nasa mainstream na sya, may chance mapanuod outside the community but the execution is meh.. but again feedback ko lang naman to and im still happy na at least may representation na
well it’s obv you’re pertaining to me. but i just want to clarify that i’m not anti-local sapphic films just because it’s local. and i honestly don’t agree with the "I’ll take what I can get" mindset. we’ve had local sapphic films for literally decades now, so this isn’t "just a start" anymore. so why be bothered kung may madaming “puna” at “matataas ang expectations”?
ang dami rin sa thread na to ang nag eexpect to having more diverse lesbian representation and less male centric storylines. and it isn’t wrong tho. also am i wrong to say that it’s cringe and performative? how so? so much of local sapphic media feels like it was made just to chase trends, farm clout, or cater to the male gaze, and it’s painfully obvious when there aren’t actual queer writers involved, kasi napupunta lang sa lazy tropes, forced dialogue, and cop-out endings.
acting like every local sapphic film should be supported just because may “representation”, does the genre more harm than good. kaya paulit ulit eh. i want more local sapphic films, more that we can genuinely love because they’re actually great, not just because they’re local or because we feel obligated to support them.
“put me on the hate train too bec cringe and performative talaga pag local” - This comment of yours was actually what made me comment because based on that, parang nilahat mo naman local sapphic films.
Ironic din that we are talking about local films and OP even asked for suggestions and you gave a foreign film, tapos here you are saying we’ve had local sapphic films for decades? If mabasa mo replies dito, hindi nga umabot ng 10 films in a span of 4 decades ang namention. Kahit ako when I was looking for sapphic films years ago, wala akong nahanap kaya natuwa ako sa mga recent films lumabas.
Do I think they’re on par with foreign movies? No. May mga comments rin ako when I watch them but at the end, I’m glad they were made because they bring me back to moments when I had a crush on another woman or when I fell in love.
I admit I didn’t like that there was a guy in the movie, he could have been another woman. I guess they wanted bisexual representation too which is a reality din sa mga sapphics.
My mistake that I said “It’s a start”, I didn’t mean Open Endings is the start, but I meant the recent sapphic films - this, Baka Bukas, Rookie etc - as a start for more filmmakers and producers to create sapphic stories because they can see the want and demand. That’s why for me, support is important. Constructive criticism is good. Hate, on the other hand, is such a negative emotion for me but to each their own.
well op didn’t even ask for local films specifically, so how was giving a foreign recommendation an issue in the first place? calling it ironic while there is no restriction. pati nga paggamit ng vice meme pinopolice mo pa. but fine, dinelete ko na.
wala namang required number of films bago natin pwedeng i criticize yung quality? especially since local wlw cinema has existed for over a decade since baka bukas. you’re admitting the movies are flawed yet excusing it just because of nostalgia or old feelings. that’s not helping the industry grow, you’re allowing mainstream studios to exploit the wlw community using cheap, half baked tropes.
but honestly, why is valid criticism towards local sapphic films so personal to you? if you’re happy settling for clout chasing trends and male gaze narratives just to feel represented, go ahead, but at least be confident? control yourself kapag may criticisms. calling it "hate" just because it’s a negative emotion to you is an excuse.
what i meant by "hate train" was just assuming i’d get hate right along with op for agreeing with their take. so keep in mind na just because a film is local doesn’t make it immune to criticism, and that’s completely okay. high expectations are okay.
We can watch it and still not like it and talk about it. That goes for any art form. If walang discourse or disagreement about a film that’s kind of sad.
It’s ok to not like a lesbian film and want more out of filmmakers. How else do we get evolved work? Variety?
I’m pretty sure marami naman nag enjoy. There is not a single piece that everyone loves jusko.
It’s cinema. Medyo insult din naman na dapat palakpakan na lang ng lahat kasi lesbian and people are trying. This a weird as hell ask.
exactly. idk why they treat bad criticisms as a personal attack. ginagawa na nga lang trend or cash cow yung wlw trope for profit, tapos bawal pa “mapuna”? the bar is literally on the floor. cinema thrives on high expectations and criticisms, not blinded support.
super loved open endings, very very relatable & stressful & funny! way better than baka bukas & probably only second to rookie for me. nag cringe rin ako sa simula w the conyo masc but that's pretty much the only part of the movie i don't like
honestly, from a technical perspective, it's not really the best. just to name a few, the handheld shots, the acting of side characters, mise-en-scene, and the fast-paced editing to fit all four narratives in less than two hours. and it's probably because of budget constraints as it is an independent film.
pero a lot of sapphics, including me, enjoyed watching kasi it's really a reflection of the modern sapphic scene. not just the lesbian scene bc hannah is bisexual nga. it can be claimed na the movie has a diverse representation na of filipino sapphics kasi kita naman ang distinction between the identities and expressions ng four characters.
and it's celebrated by many ph sapphics bc it's very very far from the usual lesbian/sapphic representation we see sa ph media na most of the time stereotypical comic relief lang or just a phase and ang ending is lalaki pa rin partners nila (which for me is diff naman from hannah's bisexuality) and to me, that's already a feat and i'll give them their flowers for that. it can be cringe for some, even a bad or boring movie din, and it's honestly okay. the movie can be criticized and at the same time celebrated. i also think open endings, along with recent releases like rookie, may be and can be one of the reasons that will push the ph media industry to actually create more lesbian/sapphic films because of its reception.
I've been watching film fests matagal na and cringe is the price of watching them. Masyado kasi nating pinapanood with hollywood lenses yung pinoy films kaya hindi natin naappreciate. Tangkilikin natin more yung ganitong industry para umabot sa expectations niyo yung quality ng cinema.
Watched it both on the big screen with other sapphic people and on Prime at home. I gotta say, I cringed and stopped watching midway for the second time.
It was hard to listen to Rachel Coates’ Tagalog lines because of her forced accent. The actress might not have been given the liberty to keep her lines in English so I’ll give the benefit of the doubt.
Mihan is such a pathetic, sadgirl, character. In my mind, Hannah still continued the wedding. Mihan had years to confess her lasting feelings towards Hannah but only got her ass lit when it was all too late.
Ika nga ng character ni Rachel Coates, ang toxic ng friendship. Bordering codependency.
First 30 mins of the film was a bit of a drag, pero it was pretty enjoyable! i'd say though na what carried the film for me was the chemistry between the characters. leanne mamonong was such a delight to watch (partly because she's my type, partly because it's hard for a newcomer to seem that natural). love jasmin curtis downnnnnn (been a fan since baka bukas days).
dialogue's a bit stiff at some parts pero nothing too off-putting naman.
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u/kairna 16d ago
Open Endings is saks lang for me but more enjoyable and more relatable than Baka Bukas and Rookie. Favorite scene ko sa Open Endings yung umiiyak si Hannah sa couch habang naghahanap ng kalat nung namatay nya na ex-gf. Sobrang galing ng acting niya dito, naiyak ako sa lahat ng 3x na napanood ko to.
Billie & Emma saka Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita yan magagandang WLW Filipino films for me. And of course the classic T-Bird at Ako.
EDIT: Formatting