Temp workers, transient love

Temp workers, transient love

FILM REVIEW: Hello, Love, Goodbye [2019]

By Ysh Cabana
The Philippine Reporter

Cathy Garcia-Molina is at it again. Known for her blockbuster romcoms, the director appeals to the masses for another till breaker that is distinct of her mold. Her latest stands as tall as the rooftop spot where it has become its iconic scene. Hello, Love, Goodbye draws kilig sensibilities bringing to the fore the plight and hopes of Filipino migrant workers aka OFWs.

Her name is Joy (Kathryn Bernardo). His is Ethan (Alden Richards). In Hong Kong, they find each other despite being in what seems opposite situations at first. They are definitely not poor, most probably dispossessed middle-class: she defers pursuing her career as a nurse ending up as an overworked domestic helper (or DH in colloquial terms), and he is a breezy bartender bearing the brunt of caregiving burden among his younger brothers.

For her, Hong Kong is a layover as she is determined to move forward with a job application in Canada; while he is stuck in the cosmpolitan density after his visa was rejected by U.S. immigration.

The bustling city—a “place where no one stays still”—lends a pervasive air of uncertainty and temporariness, as the title suggests. The opening frame sequence creates that jittery feeling of the main character’s sentiments narrated in voiceover.

Together, they yield a rich seam of storytelling and a warm togetherness. Their first encounter is in a dark alleyway after a frazzled police chase. Out of fear of getting caught, she runs away in panic from the bar she just started working under the table. He shows his playboy personality since then. Pursuing to get her attention, he persistently sends requests on social media, texts her messages and broadcasts radio messages. (Talk about the paradox of the mobile devices which provide access to interpersonal connection but maintaining the users, as in this case temporary workers, deprived of social mobility.)

Bernardo and Richards are two prime stars in the Philippines. Their pairing here as transient lovers is representative of the entertainment industry in such affairs. Although each has his/her own romantic partner on and off screen, albeit from rival TV networks, not casting them would’ve missed the counterpoint.

In true Garcia-Molina trope, Joy’s supporting cast include pessimist cousin Mary Dale (Maymay Entrata), optimist friend Gina (Lovely Abella), and comic Sally (Kakai Bautista). On their regular day-off gatherings, the four would meet at Central (District) to catch up on each other while sitting on flattened carboard boxes, and most importantly, to sell wares eking out a living even in an illicit way. In the public space, for example HSBC Plaza, Victoria Harbour, and elsewhere, most OFWs find respite from the daily grind. They even have their own Sunday beauty queen contest.

As fiction may mirror reality, such scenes mimic how OFWs practise care to have a taste of intimacy away from the motherland. The film foregrounds diasporic working class to represent devalued, racialized, gendered division of labor being deployed by the government. It prompts the viewer to deepen understanding of the bodily fate of many Filipina women with no end in sight.

In the end, there’s is no joy in leave-taking one foreign country in exchange for a job in another save for one’s homeland. Despite having a woman filmmaker at the helm, it doesn’t reflect on the experience of nurses, mostly women, arriving in Canada struggling to take competency assessments or to enter a bridging program just to be able to practice their international education. This reinforces middle-class fantasy production. It is not a tool with which viewers can shape the future. Rather, it deprives people of a better alternative: a society where families are not broken up by the urgent need for survival and a homeland where there is opportunity for everyone to live a decent and humane life.

One of the highest grossing Philippine films of all time, Hello, Love, Goodbye had its North American premiere in August 2019. It recently placed 5th spot in box office chart for independent films according to Comscore, a U.S. media analytics firm.

Hello, Love, Goodbye

Director: Cathy Garcia-Molina; writer: Carmi G. Raymundo; screenplay: Cathy Garcia-Molina, Rona Co; editor: Marya Ignacio; cinematographer: Noel Teehankee; creative producer: Charmaine Censon; associate creative producer: Ella A. Palileo; producer: John Leo Garcia; executive producer: Carlo Katigbak, Olivia M. Lamasan; music: Jessie Lasaten; production designer: Norico Santos; sound: Tanat Jongjirawat, Boom Suvagondha. Rating: PG13: Some Coarse Language. In Filipno, with English subtitles. Running time: 117 minutes.

Starring: Kathryn Bernardo, Alden Richards, Maymay Entrata, Maricel Laxa, Joross Gamboa, Jameson Blake, Kakai Bautista, Lito Pimentel, Jeffrey Tam, Lovely Abella, William Lorenzo, Maxine Medina, Jerome Ponce, Anthony Jennings.