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Crying Ladies is a 2003 Filipinos comedy-drama film Film director by Mark Meily based on his Palanca Awards-winning screenplay Bayad Luha. 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 Binondo, while they deal with their personal problems.
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 Eric 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.
While searching in Manila's Binondo, he meets Stella, a cash-strapped mother who has been recently released after serving time for fraud. Despite her initial apprehensions and realization that Wilson's father was responsible for her imprisonment, she agrees to be a funeral mourner after accepting a 500-peso advanced payment from Wilson. Stella tags two of her friends, Aling Doray, a former B-star actress who waxes nostalgic about her former acting career under the stage name Rhoda Rivera, and Choleng, a pious woman who vows to avoid sinning after having repeated affairs with her friend's husband Ipe.
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, who will be moving to Cagayan de Oro, along with her former husband Guido and his new wife Cecile. She wants to have a decent and stable job so she can reclaim custody and reunite with her son. Doray frequently reminisces about her acting career, particularly as an extra in Darna. 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 had a tumultuous relationship with his father, forgives him for not being a good father and starts 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. Doray gets an offer to reprise her role as an extra in a sequel of Darna and the Giants. Choleng finally ends her affair with Ipe and is now a marriage counselor in her parish.
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.
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." 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 Filipinos stars." Eddie Cockrell of Variety praised Mark 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."
The film received some negative reviews. Mark Holcomb of Village Voice criticized the editing, but still praised the film, particularly Sharon Cuneta's performance: "Sharon Cuneta delivers an engaging, surprisingly coarse performance, considering her onetime Philippines-sweetheart status, and the subtle revelations concerning ritual and loss in Mark Meily’s story serve her well. More judicious editing was surely called for, but Crying Ladies succeeds as first-rate melodrama." Vincent 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."
| 2003 | Metro Manila Film Festival "Metro Manila Film Festival:2003" . IMDB. Retrieved April 9, 2014. | Best Picture | Crying Ladies | |
| Best Director | Mark Meily | |||
| Best Actor | Eric Quizon | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Hilda Koronel | |||
| Best Child Performer | Julio Pacheco | |||
| 2004 | Best Actor | Eric Quizon | ||
| Best Actress | Sharon Cuneta | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Hilda Koronel | |||
| Best Director | Mark Meily | |||
| FAMAS Award | ||||
| Gawad Urian Awards | Best Picture | Crying Ladies | ||
| Best Director | Mark Meily | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Eric Quizon | |||
| Julio Pacheco | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Hilda Koronel | |||
| Sherry Lara | ||||
| Best Screenplay | Mark Meily | |||
| Best Editing | Danny Añonuevo | |||
| Best Cinematography | Lee Meily | |||
| Best Production Design | Norman Regalado | |||
| Best Music | Vincent De Jesus | |||
| Best Sound | Danny Añonuevo | |||
| FAP Award | Eric Quizon | |||
| Kerala International Film Festival | NETPAC | Mark Meily | ||
| Golden Crow Pheasant | ||||
| Silver Crow Pheasant |
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