You are here:

Tahan

Name: Tahan
Director: Bobby Bonifacio
Released: 2022
Duration: 88 min

Representation Score

6.5/10

Good

2022

Director

Bobby Bonifacio

Runtime

88 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Tahan offers a gritty, character-driven exploration of autonomy and the tension between personal desires and familial obligations. By focusing on a woman trying to leave sex work, the film avoids traditional clichés associated with female domesticity. The production succeeds in presenting a non-Western perspective through its Filipino cast and Southeast Asian setting. It replaces the nurturing matriarch archetype with a disruptive, manipulative figure, adding layers of psychological complexity. While the film provides a nuanced look at overlapping struggles, it lacks explicit confirmation regarding LGBTQ+ dynamics. The narrative's strength lies in its refusal to offer a stable or traditional social framework for its protagonist.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Tahan have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The story focuses on a character's journey through love, but the specific gender identity of the romantic interest remains unclear.

How does Tahan portray gender?

Good

The film challenges traditional feminine roles by depicting a manipulative mother instead of a nurturing one. It highlights a woman's struggle to gain control over her life amidst domestic pressures.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Tahan?

Good

With a predominantly Filipino cast, the production centers Southeast Asian perspectives. This approach shifts the storytelling focus away from Western norms.

How does Tahan represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The story questions the stability of the nuclear family by showing the home as a place of chaos. It explores moral ambiguity through the lens of sex work.

Does Tahan include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no evidence of characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities within the narrative.

Present on Screen

Challenges traditional gender roles by portraying a manipulative rather than nurturing maternal figure.
Provides a non-Western perspective through a predominantly Filipino cast and Southeast Asian setting.
Questions the stability of the nuclear family by presenting the home as a place of conflict.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit confirmation of non-straight romantic dynamics within the narrative.
Provides no visible representation or engagement with characters having physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

When Elise falls in love, she decides to stop being an escort. But her manipulative mother won’t let her and would make her life more chaotic.

How are these scores produced? →