Is becoming a good mother totally different from becoming a woman of respect? In a patriarchal society, the answer may be yes. In Lea′s Story, Lea raises objection to this idea. Lea is a career woman with a divorce record. She is currently living with her son Ojie, whom she had with an ex- husband, Raffy, and a daughter Maya whom she had with live-in boyfriend Ding. In both her private and professional life, she meets with various kinds of discrimination that are directed towards women: the cold attitude towards children who have different surnames; the determination of who carries the responsibility for raising the children; deciding what to be called as a divorced woman ; and finally dealing with the violence of husband against wife. However, Lea is firm with her decision to be both a good mother and a woman of respect. For the former, it is to give her children as many options as she can, and for the latter, it is to do her best to fulfill her responsibilities to her job at the Survival Center for Women-in-Crisis. Director Chito S. Rono chooses not to present Lea′s assertiveness in any serious way. Perhaps he considers this as the core problem of patriarchy. For example, Lea is straightforward about sex. Accordingly, Lea is assertive because of her frankness, and this in turn is suggested by the director to be the best way to abolish male egotism. This is why Lea′s Story separates itself from the conventions and storyline of a family melodrama while complying to it at the same time, even if Lea herself may stand as an ideal. (Kim Ji-Seok)