Five Breakups and a Romance (2023) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The story takes place in two countries: Singapore, where Lance and Justine first meet and connect, and the Philippines, particularly Manila, where they eventually build their lives together. Singapore represents opportunity and the fashion world, while the Philippines grounds the story in family and local life.

• singapore
• manila
• philippines
• setting
• locations
• cross-cultural

The narrative spans from 2015 to 2023, beginning when Lance meets Justine in Singapore in 2015, including a vow renewal in 2018, and covering the COVID-19 pandemic era starting in 2020, culminating in 2023 with a hospital visit and final goodbye.

• 2015
• 2018
• 2020
• 2023
• timeline
• years
• time period

Yes, COVID-19 plays a significant role in the story, starting in 2020. The pandemic creates additional pressure on the relationship, with Lance facing frontline medical duties as a surgeon, testing their trust and resilience during this difficult period.

• covid-19
• pandemic
• covid
• coronavirus
• 2020

The film explores how a relationship stretched across borders, specifically between Singapore and the Philippines, forces difficult choices about where to live and how to sustain love. Communication, timing, and career demands continuously test the couple's commitment throughout the years.

• long-distance
• relationship
• love
• border
• cross-cultural romance

Lance's medical career and Justine's fashion ambitions pull them in different directions. The story examines how sacrifice, relocation, and balancing professional success with emotional connection shape their relationship, showing how careers can create tension in intimate partnerships.

• career
• love
• profession
• ambition
• doctor
• fashion
• surgeon

Lance Sandoval is a medical student who travels to Singapore and falls in love with Justine. He later becomes a general surgeon and faces the pressures of frontline medicine during the COVID-19 era, balancing dedication to his career with a deep but sometimes turbulent commitment to his partner.

• lance
• sandoval
• doctor
• surgeon
• medical student
• character

Justine Ramos is a fashion designer who moves to Singapore to pursue opportunity, then returns to the Philippines where she builds her career as a consultant and eventually founds her own fashion brand. She navigates long-distance love, career shifts, and personal growth throughout the story.

• justine
• ramos
• fashion
• designer
• brand
• character

The movie has a bittersweet tone throughout, repeatedly showing the joy of reconnection followed by the pain of separation. The ending in 2023 is also bittersweet, a final parting that feels both sad and accepting, reflecting an enduring connection that cannot sustain a traditional romance.

• bittersweet
• ending
• emotional
• tone
• conclusion
• ending 2023

The story spans eight years, jumping across significant time gaps between 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2023. This variable pacing compresses years of character development into key moments of conflict and reunion, creating a sense of a life lived in chapters.

• years
• timespan
• pacing
• 2015-2023
• chapters

COVID-19 arrives during the relationship in 2020, testing trust and resilience. Lance's frontline duties as a surgeon add pressure and reveal how stress affects closeness. Infidelity and separation become part of the struggle before a eventual reconciliation in 2023.

• pandemic
• stress
• infidelity
• separation
• frontline
• healthcare