Phnom Penh: Wednesday, 28th-August-2018 the Philippine romantic drama film Hello, Love, Goodbye per-screening at Major Cineplex by Smart AEON Mall Phnom Penh.
Hello, Love, Goodbye is a 2019 Philippine romantic drama film directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina and starring Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards. The film is produced by Star Cinema. Released in the theaters on July 31, it has grossed over ₱838 million pesos worldwide as of August 23, 2019. On August 27, a novel adaptation written by Palanca awardee Charmaine Lasar was announced and reportedly contained the epilogue to the film’s storyline.
Joy (Bernardo) is a spunky, poor millennial who works as a domestic helper in Hong Kong. While she excels in her job and enjoys the friendship of many other empowered domestic helpers, she plans to leave the city soon.
In her journey to achieving her goals, Joy meets Pinoy bartender Ethan (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 commit to a career and to his family (Who also reside in Hong Kong). Joy and Ethan soon develop a friendship. The two become each other’s joy against the grime and grind of Hong Kong.
The film on its opening day earned a total of ₱34.4 million from over 350 cinemas in the Philippines. Three days after its local release, the film was reported to have earned ₱110.8 million. After four days, the film earned ₱176.6 million and was shown in 465 cinemas nationwide. As of August 12, 2019, 1PM the film has grossed ₱505.7 million domestically in 13 days of showing. After 17 days in cinemas, the film has grossed ₱603 million domestically.
The film earned $2,132,000 in box office receipts abroad on its first week of release. The film was also recognized now the highest-grossing Filipino film in the Middle East for earning over $1 million as of August 18. It is also the highest-grossing Filipino film in Australia and New Zealand earning over $191,162[16] and $60,459 respectively.
Filipino film critic Philbert Dy gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 and praised Bernardo’s performance. Oggs Cruz, writing for Rappler, reviewed the film thus, “Hello, Love, Goodbye’ is fine entertainment – one that doesn’t dumb down the issues it puts forward for the sake of a standard happy ending.”
He pointed out that while the romantic plot was formulaic and characters seemed to have become stereotypical, the film’s strengths were its depiction of Hong Kong through the female protagonist’s perspective and of the struggles of overseas Filipino workers as domestic helpers. In his review, Armando B. Chavez of Philippine Daily Inquirer said that the love story stood out due to the “backdrop of the plight of OFWs in Hong Kong.”
He also praised the musical editing, the close-up shots of the protagonists, and performances of Bernardo and Richards, describing them as tour de force. He wrote “This is a date movie if ever there’s one. As they say back home, “just feel the feeling.” Sit back, secretly dab the tears away… resistance is futile.”
Ricky Lo of The Philippine Star gave a generally positive review of the film particularly the comic relief provided by Abella, Bautista, and Entrata. Tito Genova Valiente however disagreed and considered the trio’s performances as “aggravating” while praising Bernardo and Richard, stating, “There is Bernardo with perhaps the quietest performance for any actress of her generation. Bernardo can act within a small frame, holding her face solidly as if a slight movement will mar that portrayal.
Alden gets the cinematographic love as well. His Ethan starts fun and ends tragic but with lots of hope, even if it does not matter what happens to that hope. When those tears fall from Richards’s eyes, they bring us back to those old, old cinemas of leading men looking beautiful and strong in grief.
