Crying Ladies is a 2003 Filipino comedy-drama film directed by Mark Meily based on his Palanca-winning screenplay Bayad Luha.
[2] 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 Chinatown, while they deal with their personal problems.
While searching in Manila's Chinatown, he meets Stella, a cash-strapped mother who has been recently released after serving time for fraud.
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.
Crying Ladies was based on Bayad Luha, a screenplay written by Meily in 2000 as part of his thesis for a screenwriting workshop by Filipino scriptwriter Armando Lao.
Scott of New York Times wrote, "Its most winning attribute is a kind of sloppy, unassuming friendliness, a likability aptly reflected in its characters.
"[8] 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 Filipino stars.
Mark Holcomb of Village Voice criticized the editing, but still praised the film, particularly Cuneta's performance: "Cuneta delivers an engaging, surprisingly coarse performance, considering her onetime Philippines-sweetheart status, and the subtle revelations concerning ritual and loss in Meily’s story serve her well.
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.