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Petersen Vargas (Director), Un/Happy for You, 2024. 110 min.

If there is one recent romantic drama that has left an everlasting mark on me, it is Un/Happy for You, Petersen Vargas’s 2024 film from the Philippines. A tender and haunting meditation on love and loss, it meanders through the corridors of heartbreak with a quiet yet piercing poignancy. While some may contest its portrayal of romance and sorrow—and perhaps it should be taken with a grain of salt—it lingers like the echo of a half-forgotten melody, a wistful requiem for love that could not last.

In its relatively brief 110-minute span, Un/Happy for You sweeps its audience into a tide of nostalgia and grief. Vargas crafts a world drenched in yearning, an intimate portrait of a love that bloomed under unlikely circumstances, only to wither in the unforgiving light of reality. It does not boast the poetic tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, nor does it conform to the fairy-tale romances of childhood dreams. Instead, it wanders through the labyrinthine ache of lost love, exploring the delicate thread that binds former lovers, even as time unspools it thread by thread.

The emotional weight of the film is both devastating and exquisitely raw. Joshua Garcia delivers a deeply moving performance as Juancho, a chef at a family restaurant who wrestles with the ghost of a love that once defined him. Opposite him, Julia Barretto embodies Zy, his former partner—a New York-based writer whose presence is at once near and untouchable, like a star glimpsed through mist. The film’s casting is a poetic irony in itself, as Garcia and Barretto, once lovers beyond the screen, bring an added layer of reality to their on-screen heartbreak.

Set against the backdrop of Bicol—an administrative region of the Philippines—the film unfolds with an unexpected, awkward reunion between Juancho and Zy. Rather than walking away, Juancho insists on spending time with her, initially driven by the desire for retribution after the heartbreak she inflicted upon him. However, his plan backfires as old emotions resurface, particularly when it becomes evident that Zy still harbours feelings for him, despite being cheerfully engaged to someone else. More and more, their interactions become warm, tangled, and deeply sentimental—Zy present yet emotionally distant.

As time unfurls, their lingering attachment leads them to a bittersweet reckoning, a quiet surrender to fate’s unrelenting hands. In the hush of unspoken words, they accept the painful truth: that love, however deep, is sometimes not enough. And so, they part—not with fiery goodbyes, but with the solemn grace of those who understand that some sacrifices are beyond undoing. Ultimately, Un/Happy for You is a testament to the delicate art of letting go, a symphony of heartbreak and healing, woven with the soft yet unyielding threads of memory. It is a love story not of triumph, but of acceptance—a reminder that even the most cherished love can be fleeting, and that in its fading embers, there is still beauty to be found.

How to cite: Espenido, Jhon Steven C. “Love and Loss in Petersen Vargas’s Un/Happy for You.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 17 Feb. 2025, chajournal.blog/2025/02/17/un-happy.

Jhon Steven C. Espenido graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language from Surigao del Norte State University in the Philippines. A native of Surigao City, he is a passionate writer of poems, short stories, and opinion essays. His works have been featured in national publications such as the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Philippine Star, as well as in community newspapers across Mindanao, Philippines. [Read all contributions by Jhon Steven C. Espenido.]

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