Leonor Will Never Die (2022) by Martika Ramirez Escobar

By: Justice Aguinaldo, Philippines

In this fast-paced, ever-evolving world, keeping up with societal changes and events may seem impossible. Thus, people tend to seek a sense of control in some form or another. Most have even experienced looking back on at least one part of their lives and wishing that they had the ability to replay, reverberate, and even revise it.

Leonor Will Never Die (2022), the debut film of Filipino writer-director Martika Ramirez Escobar, wonderfully encapsulates this desire. The movie depicts the life of Leonor, a retired screenwriter, as she longs to return to her prime. When an accident involving an old television set leaves her in a coma, she is given the opportunity to revisit this period of her life as her subconscious enters the world of a script she had conceived decades in the past but never finished.

Beneath the whimsical, surreal, and comedic overtones of the movie lies a profound commentary on the interplay between art and life, hope and grief, and fiction and reality. The film highlights the idea that, even though we hold the pen that writes our lives, we do not possess an instrument of erasure necessary to alter the past. However, we can still decide on how our stories will progress, develop, and conclude, as well as reinterpret and reimagine what has come before.

Leonor Will Never Die (2022) may also serve as a reminder to Southeast Asians, and all those who have endured multiple attempts by colonizers or authoritarians to rewrite history, that it is our responsibility to take back ownership of our narratives with intention and hope. In a world too eager to write our lives for us, let us rise as the authors of the destinies and histories that have defined our identities.

The movie poster for Leonor Will Never Die (2022), directed by Martika Ramirez Escobar.