let it linger: sunshine (2024) by antoinette jadaone
i consider myself a fan of direk tonet (antoinette jadaone), though i know of her more through the ang walang kwentang podcast rather than her works (i’ve watched fan girl though!). so, when i saw the trailer for sunshine circulating on twitter back in 2024 and learning that it was directed by her, i knew i had to watch the trailer. and, after watching the trailer, i knew this was a film i needed to watch.
so when i learned that sunshine was out in cinemas starting july 23, 2025, i immediately booked tickets to watch it that same week – on a friday (july 25) night, since i thought it would be a great way to end the week. i then asked carlos if he wanted to watch with me, to which he agreed, without knowing what the movie was about until he was in the movie theater.
also, just a side note: i worked in the records x coffee shop beside fully booked, and for dinner, we got to have 8cuts upon my request! thank you carlos for funding that night’s dinner (mozzarella sticks, onion rings, and a chicken sandwich) even if all he got to eat was a sad half of the chicken sandwich and 2 mozzarella sticks…..hehehe. this was such a good meal since i’d been craving 8cuts for a while.
going back to the movie, i was surprised to find out that part of it was filmed on our street?? i don’t know why i didn’t notice it during the trailer because the scene also showed up in the trailer. when miggy’s school’s facade was first shown i remember thinking it looked an awful lot like siena college, then, when the scene changed to show the street, i immediately recognized it as the road i’ve walked on many, many times. what a coincidence and really embarrasing honestly that i didn’t catch on sooner since i’ve watched the trailer and a breakdown of that specific scene beforehand.
i was amused several times throughout the movie as well, though an instance was because of carlos, halfway through the movie, leaning over and whispering “god damn, this movie is so heavy.” i see direk tonet’s humor in this film (e.g. miggy echoing “amen,” ariana’s character), and these moments were well-timed and don’t feel misplaced. they were lighter spots in what was overall a very heavy movie.
for most of the film though, i was sad and angry. sad for sunshine, what she’s going through, and how she bore the burden alone for a good part of the movie, angry at miggy for absolving himself of any responsibility when it was he who decided to have unsafe sex, sad and angry for mary grace and how she has to bear a child while being a child herself, and how the child was a product of rape and incest, sad and angry at what women have to go through in the philippines, at the lack of access to abortion and how women are shamed for their choices, angry at how people value the lives of unborn children more than they do the lives of the women bearing those children, angry at people who shame others for their choices, especially people who are mandated to provide care and considering that in the philippines we have a long way to go when it comes to sex education – just so much sadness and anger.
direk tonet deserves all her flowers. she was able to tackle such a heavy and sensitive topic so well, and one thing i think i really liked about the movie was how they humanized the unborn children. a common thing i hear about women choosing to undergo abortion is that they’re heartless and don’t care about the kids inside of them, but by humanizing/having them show up as aged up characters in the film and having sunshine form a connection with them, direk tonet addresses that and shows that the decision to undergo an abortion is not an easy one. i also really liked how there were different scenarios presented as to why someone would want to undergo an abortion: pregnancy due to rape, pregnancy due to incest, pregnancy due to being misinformed/not knowing better with regard to safe sex, being unable to bear a child because of how it would affect one’s career/life, being unable to bear a child due to the health risk it poses, or just not wanting a child at all – there are different scenarios as to why one wants to undergo an abortion, and in all these scenarios, their reasons are all valid and they all deserve access to safe and accessible abortion.
maris racal also deserves very very high praise for her performance. she portrayed sunshine so well – that combination of desperation, helplessness, anger, frustration – and overall, you get the feeling that she really is just a teenager trying to navigate this very scary situation. you can feel her desperation and how she tries to put up a front, especially when questioned by her coach regarding the rumors of her pregnancy. she was able to make space for so several simultaneous emotions, and her acting felt realistic. i could see many other teens acting that way if they were in their situation. annika co and jennica garcia, who played sunshine’s unborn daughter and older sister, respectively, were also good in their roles. the latter, in particular, portrayed that intimate scene between sisters so well, and it made me cry seeing how she had sunshine’s back regardless of what she chose. i think annika and jennica’s characters deliver the important views/thought bites on abortion and everything it entails.
i’m so happy that i decided to watch this film, and i hope everyone watches this and leaves with more empathy for women and those who want to undergo an abortion. hopefully it helps them realize just how nuanced the topic is, and hopefully it makes them realize the importance of legislating safe and accessible abortion for women, regardless of one’s personal views on the matter. i hope people learn to value more the lives of the women who are already here and who have to undergo the complications of pregnancy instead of just championing the unborn (this reminds me of an opinion i saw online that i resonate with about how the unborn are an easy cause to fight for). i hope people realize the importance of good, accessible, and age-appropriate sex education as well and how this can go a long way in preventing people from being taken advantage of.
this film is a must watch, and the entire cast and production team has my thanks, especially direk tonet, for creating a movie like this.