Film & TV

4 Films on Filipino-Chinese Culture That Kinda Flop

From the cringeworthy Hokkien dialogue of ‘Mano Po’ to the over-the-top zodiac-themed kills of ‘Feng Shui,’ these films try but miss the mark on Filipino-Chinese representation in cinema

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Screenshots from Netflix PH, Regal Entertainment, ABS-CBN Star Cinema, Solar Pictures YouTube Channels

Filipino cinema doesn’t do a very good job of portraying Filipino-Chinese culture.

As part of the country’s community of Filipino-Chinese — or Fil-Chi, or Chinoy, or Chinito/a, or Lannang — I always found my feet firmly planted in both identities. I speak the Chinese dialect Hokkien fluently because my father, a first-gen immigrant, drilled the language into me. My mother, more Filipino because of her upbringing, taught me how to libak in Cebuano, and the importance of a good chikka session. 

Fil-Chi culture is messy, mainly because its two cultures are so contradictory to one another. It is a difficult culture to verbalize, much less portray on the big screen, so I completely understand how much of a challenge it is for filmmakers to capture the lives of Fil-Chi people.

With that said, they could — and should — do better.

filipino-chinese films mano po
The birthday scene in the first Mano Po. Photo from Regal Entertainment, Inc./YouTube

Take the first Mano Po film, the start to one of the most successful drama anthology series in the country. While the film is mostly remembered for its melodrama, it’s a masterclass in how to not represent the Fil-Chi community as it doubles down on harmful racist stereotypes. 

In the universe of Mano Po, Fil-Chis are cold, calculating, and obsessed with wealth. They solve all their problems — including the kidnapping of their children — with money and nothing else. They only think about their businesses, and are more than happy to cut ties with any family members who threaten the balance of their economic status. They hate cultural outsiders and will bear down a Great Wall on any potential suitor who doesn’t fit the Fil-Chi mold. They also speak in mysterious proverbs and wear a lot of red (although hmm… maybe this last one is true).

While one might argue that films like Mano Po are simply reflecting the cultural sentiments of their time, the truth is they don’t bother unpacking the real complexities of the Fil-Chi community. Instead, they rely on lazy clichés, shrouding xenophobia  in the aesthetics of the culture as if to say, “See! They’re wearing cheongsams! And they’re eating dim sum! So, of course, we did our cultural research!”

Mano Po isn’t the only piece of Filipino cinema that does a questionable job of exploring Fil-Chi culture. While it is one of the most well-known examples, there are other films that attempt to dive into the culture, though still relying on tired caricatures and oversimplified portrayals. 

Here is a list of films that, despite their many, many flaws, make an effort to portray the messy reality of being Fil-Chi.

‘Crying Ladies’ (2003)

The comedy-drama Crying Ladies centers around Choleng (Angel Aquino), Rhoda (Hilda Koronel), and Stella (Sharon Cuneta) who have all been tasked by Fil-Chi businessman Wilson (Eric Quizon) to work as professional mourners for his father’s funeral. 

While the film hones in on a culturally specific tradition — professional mourning has long been and still is a lucrative business in China — the tradition serves more as a backdrop to the personal stories of the main characters, rather than a deep exploration of Fil-Chi identity itself. Choleng, Rhoda, and Stella’s roles as professional mourners are used to explore their individual emotional struggles, such as moral crises, failed acting careers, and complex family dynamics. 

The portrayal of the Fil-Chi community, particularly through Wilson, touches on generational divides and the pressures of maintaining tradition, but the film doesn’t engage deeply with the nuances of Fil-Chi identity. Instead, it focuses on universal themes of healing and emotional growth, favoring a more general, sentimental narrative.

‘Feng Shui’ (2004)

Here is another movie where a cultural tradition is used as a backdrop. The supernatural horror Feng Shui follows the story of Joy (Kris Aquino), a woman who stumbles upon an antique bagua mirror — a feng shui artifact believed to ward off evil spirits and bring prosperity. However, after using the mirror, Joy finds herself and her family plagued by a series of Chinese zodiac-themed deaths. Joy eventually realizes that the bagua mirror was cursed by a vengeful foot-bound Chinese aristocrat named Lotus Feet, who tragically burned to death when her house was set on fire.

While the film centers around feng shui, an ancient Chinese practice that focuses on the flow of energy and balance, its portrayal of the tradition feels more like a plot device than an exploration of the culture itself. Similarly, the mention of Chinese footbinding only adds to the grotesquery of Lotus Feet and does little else for the plot. 

With that said, there are moments in Feng Shui that engage in a playful, almost cheeky interaction with Chinese culture. The kill sequences — all of which connect the victims’ Chinese zodiacs to their cause of death — are particularly delightful. A woman born in the Year of the Horse dies by falling onto a crate of Red Horse beer, while a man born in the Year of the Rooster dies by getting stabbed at a cockpit. These moments of camp add an enjoyable twist to the horror, making the most of its cultural references without taking them too seriously.

‘Mano Po’ (2002)

I could go on about the racist stereotypes of Mano Po, but I won’t because I want to focus on something else that detracts from the series’ authenticity: the Hokkien is horrible in Mano Po

Although it’s understandable that the series’ large cast — many of whom are Filipino and have little connection with Fil-Chi culture — don’t speak either Hokkien or Mandarin, it was painful to watch Maricel Soriano spit out clunky lines in Hokkien, and I’m not quite sure what Eddie Garcia was going for with his strained, gravelly Chinese accent in the first Mano Po. The dialogue often feels awkward, with actors pausing for a second too long as they mentally gear up to say a line in Hokkien that I’m sure they prepared for, but were poorly equipped to say. 

It’s not just a matter of linguistic accuracy — it’s about creating a believable, immersive environment where the characters feel authentic. Unfortunately, in these cases, the linguistic work feels like a superficial attempt to signal “Chineseness” without capturing the nuance and fluidity of real-life Hokkien speakers.

‘Her Locket’ (2023)

I’ll admit: I have nothing too mean to say about this one. The family drama Her Locket centers on family matriarch Jewel Ouyang (Rebecca Chuaunsu) who suffers from dementia but is able to use a locket necklace to gradually recall memories from her past. The film, which is currently being screened again in cinemas nationwide as a pre-Chinese New Year offering, examines how a woman makes a stand against her rigidly conservative Chinese family as she explores her passion for theater and marries a Filipino man. 

Her Locket examines how traditional and modern values can clash, while also allowing for nuance in both sides of the story. Although it is nowhere near a perfect movie — at times it portrays Chinese culture as a stifling prison for the main character — it does its best to explore the complexity of family dynamics and the struggle for personal freedom within a traditional Filipino-Chinese household.

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