Maple Leaf Dreams: this Filipino-Canadian immigrant movie has all the feels

Maple Leaf Dreams is a classic Filipino-Canadian immigrant movie that will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions as it chronicles the journey of a young couple immigrating from the Philippines to Canada.

Filipinos in Canada will surely resonate with Macky and Molly’s story (played by LA Santos and Kira Balinger)—a young couple struggling with life in the Philippines  and dreaming of a better future for themselves and their family.

They immigrate to Canada, where the plan is for Molly to start her Canadian education, and for Macky to find work to support them both.

We see their joy as they discover Toronto, and we reminisce the first few months we spent exploring the country for the first time.

The “honeymoon stage” is shown as vignettes of Toronto’s City Hall and various other touristy spots are visited by the couple.

About three quarters of the movie is shot here in Canada, directed by Benedict Mique, the same director of the Netflix movie “Lolo and the Kid”.

Next comes the adjustment phase as the couple struggles with adjusting to a new country where their Filipino qualifications don’t count for anything in Canada.

Eventually, the make-it-or-break-it moment comes when the overwhelming stress takes a toll on their emotions, and they start taking it out on each other.

The question is: will they tough it out, stay together, and persevere in Canada, or will they give up and go back home to the Philippines?

Some shining moments in the film come when Macky doesn’t give in to cheating—quite common in high-stress situations—and even gives a lesson on why we shouldn’t do the ‘wrong thing’ just because we’re lonely.

 

 

The movie also touches on grief and how we all have to go through it, that we should allow ourselves a good cry when the grief hits us, and to keep going no matter what.

But the tears really start gushing with this statement: when a loved one gives you something, they usually expect nothing in return because they love you so much.

Molly’s parents are played by veteran actors Joey Marquez and Snooky Serna, with Marquez making a short but memorable appearance as the doting father who gives everything to his child.

Marquez is the epitome of love: he does not expect his daughter to “pay him back”, or the classic utang-na-loob Filipino mentality.

Perhaps the most surprising, and the most touching moments come from documentary-style interviews with Filipino-Canadians and how they made it in Canada.

Consider these confessions: a Pinay left her own three-month-old baby in the Philippines while she took care of other people’s kids in Canada.

Or the story about successful Pinoys working as managers in the Philippines, only to work as a dishwasher in Canada.

Or stories about spending holidays without your family by your side, sometimes missing funeral services for loved ones back home.

Or the pain of seeing your contemporaries go up the corporate ladder, while you “languish” in a totally different profession in Canada.

 

 

This particular story was told by the Dela Cruz family (video above), as they recounted their first five years struggling to “make it” here, and wondering if they made the right decision.

Yes, there were times when they wanted to give up, but they stayed on, for the most part sacrificing everything for the hope of a better life for their children.

The movie has a few sappy moments that I would have cut—where they said “I love you” just a tad too many times—but the shining moments far outshine the sappy ones.

But watch for a small but significant scene in the movie: the subtle dig when others cut into our national pride and identity when they say, “my nanny and housecleaner were Filipinos”.

As if being nannies and housemaids are the only professions we can do.

This is especially poignant since we come to Canada specifically to avoid having a future where that’s all we get to put on our resumes.

We are all so much more than that.

This movie is about love and sacrifice, and the price we all pay for coming here. Was it worth it?

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Catch a special showing of Maple Leaf Dreams at 35 Fairview Mall Drive in Toronto, Ont. on November 23, 2024, with showtimes at  1:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Fairview Library Theatre. Click here for tickets.