You are here:

Once Before

Name: Once Before
Director: Joel Lamangan
Released: 2020
Duration: 98 min

Representation Score

8.8/10

Excellent

2020

Director

Joel Lamangan

Runtime

98 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film excels at providing cultural authenticity and disrupting standard romantic clichés through its supernatural premise. By centering a Southeast Asian perspective, it avoids the homogeneity of globalized media. While the narrative offers a sophisticated look at grief and ability to act, it remains somewhat limited in its explicit representation of physical disability. The focus on psychological fragmentation provides depth, but the scope of disability coverage is narrow. Overall, the work succeeds as a nuanced exploration of unconventional companionship and the complexities of loss.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Once Before have LGBTQ+ representation?

Good

The film centers a metaphysical love triangle that explores queer-coded emotional bonds and fluid understandings of love. This structure disrupts conventional romantic narratives.

How does Once Before portray gender?

Good

Gabby serves as the central pivot of the drama, playing a significant role in driving the story emotionally. Supernatural elements shift power toward the protagonist, subverting traditional masculine roles.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Once Before?

Excellent

Rooted in Philippine cinema, the film offers high ethnic specificity and cultural authenticity. It provides a necessary departure from Western-centric, homogeneous casting through its Southeast Asian context.

How does Once Before represent religion and culture?

Good

Magical realism prioritizes emotional truth over rigid religious dogma, focusing on internal experiences rather than external social or spiritual validation.

Does Once Before include disability representation?

Fair

The story explores the invisible disability of psychological trauma and grief following a car crash. However, there is no explicit evidence of permanent physical disability.

Present on Screen

Strong cultural authenticity through its Philippine cinematic roots and Southeast Asian social dynamics.
Effective subversion of traditional romantic clichés using a metaphysical, non-traditional love triangle.
Centering of women's ability to drive the story, allowing the protagonist to drive the emotional and supernatural conflict.

Limited or Absent

Limited explicit representation of physical disabilities beyond the psychological impact of trauma.
The romantic framework occasionally leans toward traditional structures despite its supernatural elements.

Official Synopsis

After a tragic car crash, Gabby finds herself in a love triangle with the ghost of her fiancé and a friend seeking more than a platonic relationship.

How are these scores produced? →