"Love You to the Stars and Back" (2017) Movie Review

Julia Barretto & Joshua Garcia stars in "Love You To The Stars And Back"

I've been a fan of Antoinette Jadaone since 2014 after seeing her romantic coming-of-age film Relaks, It's Just Pag-ibig (twice). The independent feature, starring newcomers Inigo Pascual, Sofia Andres, and Julian Estrada, is one of the best local romance films I've seen and is still one of my favorite. I'm also a fan of That Thing Called Tadhana starring Angelica Panganiban and JM De Guzman, but Relaks will always have a special place in my heart. This year, Jadaone is back in another romantic coming-of-age story, but featuring well-known actors and with support from a major film company, Star Cinema. Fresh from the success of their critically-acclaimed box-office MMFF hit Vince and Kath and James (2016), Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia returns to the big screen in Antoinette Jadaone's Love you to the Stars and Back (2017).

Feeling out place in her own home, an eccentric and socially awkward girl, Mika (Julia Barretto), decides to go on a road trip with a very strange goal – to look for aliens. In her trip, Mika accidentally bumps into a simple and good-humored boy, Caloy (Joshua Garcia), whom she chooses to give a free ride to until he reaches his destination. Mika is surprised to know that Caloy has cancer. But despite his condition, he has learned to accept his fate and remained positive and joyful. The two embark on a roadtrip filled with adventures and misadventures, not knowing that it will lead them to experiencing their most memorable romance at such a young age. They unexpectedly teach each other an important lesson on love and life – one that takes most people a lifetime to learn. [Star Cinema]

We've seen a lot of romance films tackle disease-stricken protagonists before, from the colorful musical like Moulin Rouge! (2001), the gut-wrenching classic A Walk to Remember (2002) and the latest young adult fiction The Fault In Our Stars (2014). In her latest film, Antoinette Jadaone uses this cliched and overtly used stroyline to make one of the year's best local films, period. Though the idea of having one character having cancer is an integral part of the storyline, director/ writer Jadaone don't overuse it to the point that it's being slapped in your face. Instead, she uses this as a way to bring the story and it's characters together in an emotional journey, literally and figuratively. The film is like a re-imagining of her film Relaks, It's Just Pag-ibig and That Thing Called Tadhana. Both films focus on two characters travelling together and slowly falling for each other. But this film has more resemblance to Relaks because it's characters are both young people (below/ early their 20's). Also, both Relaks and LYSB follow it's main characters as they wander to different places, gets involved in other people's lives and learn new things.

Both Mika and Caloy are both well-developed characters. We get some background of each character's lives before they meet each other in a short span of time, giving us enough information to get to know them. Then, as the film progresses, we get to dig deeper into their personal lives and what each of them are going through. Although it does need a bit of suspension of disbelief before you can fully commit to the idea of a character trying to get taken away by aliens. But once you get past that, you are in for one hell of a roadtrip. Director Antoinette Jadaone's script is witty and humorous. On top of that, her direction of the material is also adept. She really excels in eliciting laughs from the audiences. And she's also really good when it comes to making people cry a river inside the cinemas.

Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia shines once again in this movie which serves as their reunion project, being this their second movie together. Julia Barretto is so amazing in her portrayal of Mika. Aside from being a pretty face, she proved to everyone that she can act in last year's Vince and Kath and James. And now, she's done it again. You can really feel her character's pain through her eyes, and we can't help but sympathize with her. Joshua Garcia is a total revelation in VKJ and he continues to wow us in this movie. The way he throws his lines were so raw and it felt to real to me. The camera loves him. The way he smiles will surely send shivers down your spine but once he cries, you'll be melting with pity. He has this adorable and irresistible charm similar to John Lloyd Cruz, no wonder he's being compared to him by critics and audiences alike. One of my most favorite scene was this part when he tried to reconnect to his estranged father, only to be driven away and rejected. His monologue scene at his dad's house was just so heart-wrenching and painful to watch that I couldn't stop myself from crying.

Also, Julia and Joshua has really great chemistry and director Jadaone was able to squeeze all that oozing sweetness between the two onscreen. I remember this scene (which was featured in the trailer) where Mika was holding a chicken in her hand and she tells it that it's mommy and daddy's here. That scene was one of the most sweetest and nakakakilig moments in a local film I've seen this year. I can't contain the kilig I was feeling while watching this film that there were a lot of instances that I was already shrieking with joy along with the other audiences inside the cinema.

The film's cinematography and musical design was also really beneficial to the overall look and feel of the film. The film features a lot of beautiful locations and gets a lot out of these places to make the film more appealing to travelers among the audience. Though I must take note of the shaky camera shots in the film. Some of the scenes really looked good, but there were a lot of instances that the shaking camera shots were a bit distracting. This was evident in the screening where I watched the film because I kept on hearing some of the audience member's whisper that the shakiness of the shots were nauseating. The film features the Moonstar88 2000 song Torete (in a cover by Moira Dela Torre) as it's main official soundtrack and it used the film to it's maximum effect. When the film has finally ended and the credits were already rolling, I can help but sing along to the song during the end credits.

Antoinette Jadaone's Love you to the Stars and Back (2017) is one amazing romantic coming-of-age movie that reminds us of her great skills as a director and writer, and also serves as a proof that the JoshLia (Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto) tandem is a loveteam to watch out for. It's a movie that is full of laughter and pain, oozing with kilig and tears. It's something that shouldn't be missed.




Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰ of 5

"Love You To The Stars And Back" (2017)

Directed by Antoinette Jadaone, starring Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia