A Critique Paper of
the Movie Hello, Love,
Goodbye
Passed by:
John Carlo Ahunin
Johnzen V. Piodos
Ezra P. Lorenzo
Justin Lagdameo
I. Introduction
A movie entitled, “Hello, Love, Goodbye” was directed by Cathy Garcia-
Molina and the writer is Carmi Raymundo. The film follows Joy Fabregas (Kathryn
Bernardo), a struggling Overseas Filipino Worker, and Ethan Del Rosario (Alden
Richards), a bartender. Supporting casts are Maymay Entrata as Mary Dale
Fabregas, Joross Gamboa as Jhim, Jameson Blake as Edward Del Rosario, Kakai
Bautista as Sally Daraga, Lito Pimentel as Mario Del Rosario, Jeffrey Tam as Carlo,
Lovely Abella as Gina Marikit, William Lorenzo as Celso Fabregas, Anthony
Jennings as Eric Del Rosario, Wilbert Ross as Joey Fabregas, Aliyah Billote as
Liezel Fabregas, Angela Poliquit as Annie, Jon Go as Wayne Choi, Poon Po Lun
Lilac as Lin (Annie’s Mother). Filming Hello, Love, Goodbye in Hong Kong has
begun by April 2019 and was completed after a month. Principal photography for the
film ended by May 19, 2019 in Sucat, Paraῆaque. Post-production work for Hello,
Love, Goodbye was done in Bangkok, Thailand with ABS-CBN Film Productions
collaborating with Thai production film Kantana Group.
Its new treatment of the OFW story make it’s easy on the heart and easier on
the eyes while making a strong commentary on the Filipino’s toxic culture of
dependence and parental influence on their adult children. It may also well be a
reflection of the young Filipina’s newfound strength as she breaks away from toxic
traditions to realize her full potential. It moves all your emotions and encourages you
to seek greater, meaning in your endeavors and examine your own sense of
happiness.
The approach that will be used is Mise-en-scene analysis an analysis of the
arrangement of compositional elements in film essentially, the analysis of audio-
visual elements includes props and costumes, setting, lighting, camera angles,
frames, special effects, choreography, music, color values, depth, placement of
characters, etc.
II. Summary
Joy Fabregas (Kathryn Bernardo), a nursing graduate in the Philippines,
works as a domestic helper in Hong, Kong. Acting as the breadwinner of her family,
Joy aspires to move to Canada to fulfil her dream of making use of her degree. Part
of her plans is also to be able to petition her father and siblings in order for them to
live together in the same country.
In her journey to achieving her goals, Joy meets Filipino bartender Ethan
(Alden Richards). Ethan is a sweetheart playboy already building a permanent life in
Hong, Kong. In a few years, he will officially become a resident in the city. After
escaping responsibilities all his life, Ethan now wants to develop a friendship. The
two becomes each other’s joy against the grime and grind of Hong, Kong. Will their
love be enough to keep the together?
III. Analysis
In Hello Love, Goodbye, Bernardo graduates from her teen roles and
blossoms into a dramatic actress—a total transformation from her child acting days
—in a tour de force performance. Richards rises to the challenge and exhibits his
versatility as an actor, proving why he’s one of the country’s matinee idols.
To get into their roles, Bernardo was separated from the cast to better
empathize with Joy’s feelings of isolation; after just a week of filming in Hong Kong,
she wanted to go back to the Philippines. Richards, on the other hand, lost almost
25 kg to play Ethan. Molina is notorious for her strictness with the artists that she
works with—but it’s paid off as they are all household names, and her films have
been blockbuster hits.
Hello, Love, Goodbye’s love story is not new, yet it provides us with a unique
perspective of the realities of being an overseas worker. The film tears away the
layers of the OFW experience with sheer intensity. Shifting away from showing the
employee-employer relationship found in other films about OFWs, Molina brings her
focus to the OFWs themselves, and their families back home.
The film strips down the glamor of Hong Kong, as we follow Joy waking up at
5am every day, hustling through the crowded streets of Hong Kong—away from her
family, never catching a dream. She sits down on top of cardboard boxes on
Sundays in Central and juggles taking care of her employer’s daughter and
grandmother while selling power banks as a side job (which is actually illegal).
Molina blends drama and clarity in portraying these hardships, and most importantly,
tells the “whys.”
IV. Conclusion
Hello, Love, Goodbye stands out by being a film that dared to expand its story
beyond the main couple’s romance. What perhaps sets this film apart from other
Pinoy OFW movies put out before is the tremendous effort to keep it true to the
OFW story but provide good value entertainment all the same. Through an energetic
montage of Joy’s routine, you feel her exhaustion and her resolve to triumph over
the odds to attain her goals. This is balanced out by a lighter treatment compared
with OFW movies in the past. Gone for instance, are the overly-dramatic
monologues on strife to ungrateful family members. In their place are middle class
Hong Kong residents just struggling to get by with the aid of their foreign helpers?
Kathryn did the heavy lifting in the dramatic parts, staying consistent with her
character even through the romance and fan service scenes. Alden served to be a
foil to her character, lightening up the mood and keeping the scenes interesting but
holding up his own in dramatic sequences.
The easiest flaw to find in Hello, Love, Goodbye would be how Star Cinema
cannot loosen its love story formula and how pick up and hugot lines have now
become fairly standard in attracting an audience. There are moments when it does
feel Ethan and Joy may be overdoing the whole “I love you, I don’t love you” bit but,
fortunately, everything was handled tastefully within the narrative and in a less
melodramatic manner.
As a whole, Hello, Love, Goodbye is a beautifully-made, well-acted film that
satisfies a wide audience. Its new treatment of the OFW story make it easy on the
heart and easier on the eyes while making a strong commentary on the Filipino’s
toxic culture of dependence and parental influence on their adult children. It may
also well be a reflection of the young Filipina’s newfound strength as she breaks
away from toxic traditions to realize her full potential. It moves all your emotions and
encourages you to seek greater meaning and examine your own sense of
happiness.
