In her first movie after four years, Sharon Cuneta once again proves her caliber as a dramatic actress. In Star Cinema’s 15th anniversary offering Caregiver, the Megastar plays Sarah, a woman who leaves her teaching job and her son behind in the country for a caregiver position in London. However, all is not easy as emotional and financial issues soon rise to the surface.

Although Caregiver has heavy confrontation scenes complete with hard-hitting dialogue, it is in the quieter moments where Sharon stands out even more. In the scene where Sarah invites her husband (played convincingly by John Estrada) to celebrate her promotion, her eyes and face radiate with frustration when money and career become a big issue between the couple. Sharon’s few scenes with veteran actress Anita Linda, who plays her senile grandmother, are absolute tearjerkers, with feelings of hurt and heartbreak palpable in every frame.

Caregiver paints an accurate picture of these OFWs, showing the extensive training that caregivers must undertake before they can get to work in hospitals and nursing homes abroad. Oftentimes, Filipino caregivers go beyond the call of duty, seeing their wards as real people rather than just mere patients or clients. Sharon’s own character Sarah, is a compassionate woman, who later views that same compassion as a liability when it takes an emotional toll.

Sarah’s relationship with her difficult patient Mr. Morgan is one of the highlights of the film. Despite his cantankerous nature, they develop a friendship, with Mr. Morgan eventually giving Sarah a gift that changes her perception of life.

The movie also depicts the lighter side of life as an overseas worker with a bunch of light comic scenes. It shows how any Filipino will remain a Filipino no matter where life takes him around the globe. He will ask a fellow Pinoy to send him buro and bagoong and will always have a Santo Niño and Virgin Mary in his house.

The Megastar has mentioned in previous interviews how she wishes that Caregiver will make audiences appreciate how caregivers--and all OFWs for that matter—sacrifice a lot for their families and for the country. And the movie does precisely that. All in all, Caregiver is a story that could apply to each of us in our search for life’s meaning and for one’s self-worth.