IN the past, women in Filipino films were likened to props, portrayed as damsels in distress to make the male protagonist look heroic, or used as mere tools for the story to move forward. 

If not that, then they were used as sexual objects created for male pleasure. They are framed as such from the outfits all the way to the lens of the camera, trained to take close-ups of their chests and long, trailing shots up their legs and bellies. 

Thankfully, we have reached a point in Philippine cinema where we are gradually moving past that. We’ve also reached a point wherein we’re finally sharing the stories and experiences of women, unabated by what men may think. 

Perhaps the most well-known women in Filipino films come from rom-com or action films where all they do is play the victim who needs saving – and there’s nothing wrong with that – but women can be so much more. They are complicated, they have layers, they’re people. 

They are people going through life with a plethora of problems following them every step of the way, just like the rest of us.

If you’re looking for a little empowerment this week, or just need a movie break, here are some local films with female protagonists that teach you important lessons about womanhood and self-love.

1.     Marilou from “Barber’s Tales”: Women can overcome anything.

Set during the time of martial law in the Philippines, Marilou is the wife of the only barber in town. She is visibly unhappy with her marriage; her husband constantly cheats on her and treats her more like a maid rather than a spouse. However, she feels as if she can’t do anything about her situation, because she’s been his wife for so long that she perhaps no longer knows how to be anything else anymore.

“Siguro kung ang kapalaran niya ay taong may kasarian, palagay ko’y isa itong lalaki, at tulad ng ibang lalaki na nagdaan sa buhay niya, nagmistulan siyang walang laban at sunud-sunuran dito,” are the words spoken in the opening of the film. They are said by Marilou’s best friend, Susan.

“Pero sa huli, gusto kong maniwalang siya pa rin ang tagumpay.”

When her husband passes away, everyone starts to feel sorry for her, as if this is the end for her. When she tries to continue her husband’s line of work as a barber, every man is skeptical of availing her services, simply because she’s a woman. 

However, she continues to rise against the obstacles thrown her way. She continues working at the barber shop and soon starts to gain more and more customers. 

More than this, she rises against her old ways of submission and provides a haven for activists fighting against the Marcos regime, no matter the risks associated with doing so. 

Despite the hardships she’s gone through, she continues to help others, even dedicating her life to becoming an activist and giving a voice to those struggling in the Philippines.

Marilou – and “Barber’s Tales” as a whole – teaches us that women are not just wives made to care for their husbands or mothers existing only to care for their children and pop out another one in the future. 

Women are complex individuals, fully capable of taking their lives into their own hands without needing the help of men to do so.

2. Philo from “A Very Good Girl”: F*ck being a “good girl.” 

Director Petersen Vargas’s film, “A Very Good Girl,” was perhaps one of the most talked-about films in 2023. 

One of the reasons it caught the attention of many was because it starred Kathryn Bernardo in a role unlike any she’s ever played before: that of Philo, a headstrong woman determined to avenge her mother’s death, no matter the cost.

All her life, Philo has been told to behave like a good girl, being punished when she didn’t act as such. Good girls do what men want them to do. Good girls don’t get angry. Good girls don’t yell. Good girls don’t swear. Good girls never step out of line. 

Past Philo, perhaps, would have listened to this. She would’ve followed all the rules expected of her. But the new Philo stands up for herself. Not only that but she stands up for other women too, as well as anyone else who she knows is struggling the way she has in the past.

Women are always expected to live their lives and act a certain way, lest they upset the given social dichotomy. And so many of us hold back because of it. 

We dress ourselves down. We speak quieter. We force ourselves to fit into spaces we know we don’t fit in. 

Well f*ck. That.

It’s 2024! Do whatever you want so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. 

If a man tries to catcall you, tell them to go to hell. If you want to wear that mini-skirt, go ahead. If someone tries to make you feel small – tries to discredit everything you’ve done in your life – then talk back. 

Don’t ever be scared to fight back. Above all, don’t be scared to be a good person or rather, to be a better one. Because not wanting to be a good girl doesn’t mean not wanting to be a better person.

In the words of Philo: “Hindi ako mabuting tao. There are no good people. Only people who want to be better.” 

3. Cha from “Seven Sundays”: It’s okay to cut off toxic people, even if it’s hard.

“Seven Sundays” is a heartwarming story about a family that’s just found out that their father had cancer (though this is later revealed to be a fluke.) To celebrate the time their father has left, they start to visit him every Sunday as a family, and in their visits, it’s slowly revealed that their lives aren’t as perfect as they make them seem. 

One of the siblings – the only girl in the family – is Cha, who tries to show her family that she’s in a loving marriage with the father of her two kids, but the reality is he’s a cheating scumbag whom she only loves because he’s a good dad. Never mind that he isn’t a good husband.

Cha represents women who take the blame for the faults of their men. When confronted by her brothers about her cheating husband, she says that it’s her fault because she allowed him to cheat on her.

“Kasalanan ko; ako gumawa ng problema, titiisin ko,” she said.

By the end of the film, though, she’s finally able to get rid of her husband, throwing his stuff out of the house and kicking him out of her life for good. Even when he tells her she can’t do it, she yells back: “Kaya ko!”

Admittedly, she struggles at the end of the film when he’s not around to help anymore. But she’s aided by her brothers and is reminded that she’s never going to have to go through her struggles alone. She doesn’t need to welcome toxic people back into her life because she’ll always have herself and those who love her to give her the support she needs.

It’s hard to cut people out of your life especially if you’ve been with them for so long. You become so used to their presence that you start to think that you can’t survive if they aren’t by your side – that it’s better to struggle than not to have them at all.

This year, focus on yourself. If someone in your life is constantly making you feel unhappy and unloved, whether it be a friend, a partner, or even a family member, then maybe it’s time to do what’s right for you and realize that you’re better off without them.