“It’s never a question of love. Mahal na mahal kita.“

— Joy Marie Fabregas, Hello, Love, Goodbye

Synopsis:

Joy is the quintessential OFW, working hard in Hong Kong to provide for her family in the Philippines, with her aspirations of migrating to Canada and for her family to be complete. Ethan is less driven, working as a bartender in Hong Kong as he waits for his residency to push through.

Joy has shield away from relationships, but is unable to resist Ethan. Joy and Ethan soon develop a friendship. The two become each other’s joy against the grime and grind of Hong Kong.

Spoiler-free Review:

A film that talks about how far will a person go with her dreams, what it takes to reach those dreams, what would be the decisions and sacrifices, the responsibilities and the burden as a breadwinner, and most of all about love. Yet, it’s not just about love, it’s about family, ambitions, dreams, choices—life.

“Yet, it’s not just about love, it’s about family, ambitions, dreams, choices—life.”

This film brings out the reality that it is not always selfish to love yourself, it is a chance to be a better version of yourself and to prove that you are deserving to be the one for your loved one.

Spoiler Review:

The movie began with Joy Marie Fabregas, the main character, who is seen staring at the flight information of departing flights at Hong Kong Airport. There she talked about why Hong Kong is just a stopover: “May mga lugar na pangmatagalan, may mga lugar na dinadaanan lang. Parang Hong Kong. Kaya bawat oras, dapat sulitin mo. Dahil walang nagtatagal dito.” OOOHHH That is reality, and, well, truth hurts but all we can do is accept and move on to what life gives us. Even though it’s just the beginning, these lines already brought in emotions.

4 months ago, is where everything starts:  Joy’s life as a domestic helper working for a Chinese family, waking up at 5 in the morning to take care of the daughter of her employer who is disabled and to prepare food for the family. It was obvious that she did’nt enjoy where she is right now, and that she was forced to be in that situation because she wanted the best for her family. But apparently, her best is not enough for her family. Oh well, typical Filipino family. Later on, her cousin, Mary Dale Fabregas, followed her steps in being a domestic helper in Hong Kong. So, Joy went to the airport to fetch her. Before Joy brings her cousin to her employer, they first went to the Central District where all the Filipino workers would gather to enjoy their Sunday off from work and there they met up with Joy’s friends, Sally and Gina. Thank God for Joy’s friends for being with her through thick and thin. No need for relationships when you got awesome friends. It was also shown in this scene that she is halfway through getting enough money to successfully apply for Canada.

When Joy arrived at her employer’s house, she found her employer being frustrated with her finances. Her employer told her about this financial crisis, saying she couldn’t afford to pay her anymore, which would lead to the termination of her contract. But then, Joy begged to her employer to keep her contract since it’s only four more months. She offers to be paid half of her original salary and just find a nighttime job. Although illegal, her employer agreed.

She later got an offer from her fellow Filipina worker: a job at a bar as a waitress. At her first night in the bar, she caught the attention of Ethan Del Rosario who was working as a barista. Ethan started flirting with her through sending her drinks (which her friends drank). Then suddenly, Joy noticed the police outside the bar. She panicked and ran away which caught the attention of the police so they chased her. Despite being told by Joy’s friends not to run, she still ran. This part of the movie was dumb, tbh.  She could’ve just chilled and hid quietly but nooooo but she let fear get the best of her, oh well, typical Filipino film.  Joy ran as fast as she could until she decided to hide behind garbage bags. So, police didn’t find her. When she observed that there was no one around, she went out. But someone called her out, which made her panic so she gave her ID to that person while begging for mercy. While begging on her knees, she realized that the person was a commoner. So she stood up, when suddenly, the person greeted her, KABAYAN! This was a hilarious scene since. Joy looked like she was a poor kitten, begging for mercy. Only to find out that Ethan, the guy from the bar, was pranking her.

Police suddenly appeared. So Joy decided to kiss Ethan as a distraction. Ethan was shocked. And Joy successfully got out of the situation. This scene was cute. It looked like it was from a fairy tale’s happy ending. Omyg, unexpectedly expected! All the feels <3.

The next day, the Filipino radio in Hong Kong talked about Joy and how she stole a kiss from Ethan. Because of that, Ethan is looking for her. The whole DH community of Hong Kong was shocked and excited. Ethan gets to contact her eventually, through Mary Dale. Yet, Joy doesn’t care. The montage scene here was perfect. The background music fit perfectly, and it made the moment feel how it should: cheeky.

After having a bad day (Joy’s mother wanting to stay married to her abusive Chinese husband and not coming back for her father, her father not wanting to go to Canada [where she is working to apply as a nurse], and bumping into someone who discriminated her job as a DH), she called Ethan. They met up and she invited him somewhere. What started out to be a PG scene, PG scene?! Here comes the most awaited scene of maturity: A dim lighted room with a bed hmm, Joy started undressing herself then Ethan, and she proceeded to attack Ethan by kissing him on the upper extremities of his body. BUT WAIT, what do you think happened next? 😉 this scene suddenly turned into one of the most important scenes in the movie. She cried in his chest and left. Ethan was confused.

Then we see them talking in the pier. They introduced themselves to each other and talked about life, in general. This was where they exchanged the famous lines,

“So dapat next time, pag ayoko yung babae, sabihan ko agad ng ‘I love you,’ para matakot at lumayo-“

“I love you.”

“Eh kaso gusto kita eh, so sorry I don’t love you.”

After this exchange, Ethan kept on pursuing Joy *cue montage*. He did everything he could so she could have no excuse to have time for him. He bought everything she was trying to sell, pretended to be a buyer just to see her, he literally did EVERYTHING. What made this scene great wasn’t the fact that it was so cute and romantic, but rather the fact that this is exactly how courtship works in Filipino culture.

Joy was rehired at the bar where Ethan worked as a bartender. This time, as a dishwasher. One work night, Ethan’s brother, Edward, arrived drunk and caused chaos at the bar; exclaiming his disappointment towards his brother’s failure to perform his duties to his family. As a result, Ethan suddenly disappeared. Joy looked around Hong Kong for him. Eventually, she found Ethan at his father’s house with the help of Carlo. Here, she discovered that Ethan’s father was sick. In addition, Ethan has finally told his story to her, about how he lost his mind for a girl and followed her to the US only to be dumped by her, and get caught for overstaying. Thus, he begged her not to go to Canada since he is blacklisted in that country, too. This scene has let the viewers get to know more of Ethan’s life. It was heartwarming and relatable experience. Love goes with sacrifice.

Joy joined a Filipino beauty pageant for the cash prize. Ethan and his friends watched to support her, but was shocked to see that the special guest was Ethan’s ex, Tanya. Ethan was stunned, and accepted her invite for dinner. Joy was jealous, yet she denied it by saying that they’re just friends. Weh.

After Ethan professed his love for Joy, they officially became a couple. He opted to sell Joy and her friends’ products online to allow them to have some rest. While meeting up with some buyers, Joy brings up the fact that she’s leaving soon which made Ethan sad. She decides to resign at the bar to prepare for her departure. This was when he committed on his decision of putting up a bar in Hong Kong to prove to Joy that she needn’t move to Canada to have a better life.

Perhaps one of the most pivotal parts of the movie, Joy was led to a building by Ethan. While walking up the stairs, she bumps into his friends. At the top, she is greeted by Ethan, saying that this is where the bar will stand. She writes her name on the balcony’s railings, saying “Joy is here <3” They stand, hugging each other, looking over the city, thinking about the future. Ethan expresses his wish, if only you could stay. And that was when they admitted it to each other, in their own code,

“I don’t love you, Joy.”

“I don’t love you too.”

Ethan goes back home to take care of his dad and bring up the news about the bar. His brother expresses his lack of faith. However, Ethan promises to be different this time. Joy finally receives her visa to Canada. She wants to tell her mom, yet she didn’t want her to come. After hearing moans of pain on the phone, Joy finds out that her mother is admitted to the hospital because of her ‘stepdad’s’ abuse to her. She is angry. She ordered for the divorce to happen so that her mother could come to Canada for their family to be complete, but her mother refused. She said that her father was the one who forced her into marrying her Chinese employer, for their family. Hence, she doesn’t want to be with him anymore. Joy was disappointed, so she called her father, and he admitted to it. Now, even her father doesn’t want to go to Canada. This scene was quite shocking. Initially, the mother was seen as greedy and selfish for her choices, only to find out that she, too, was just a victim of poverty. She needed to do what had to be done for her family. But, she was forced to it by her husband.

The next scene was the most important part of the movie. Joy expressed her disappointed towards her family to Ethan. Ethan tries to console her by saying that now, she doesn’t need to go to Canada. After all, she wants to go there to let her family have a better life. He tells her about the bar and how Joy could stay in Hong Kong as an investor of the bar. She doesn’t want it. Ethan asks if she loves him, even her hand in marriage. But for Joy, that’s not the point. He raises good reasons for her to marry him. He has a point; he figured everything out with his plans, and all she has to do is follow him. But Joy can’t see herself in those plans despite being there. Those plans are Ethan’s plans for her, not her plans for herself. She wants to follow her dreams. He believes it’s selfish, yet, Joy believes that it isn’t. After all, this is the only time she’s choosing herself over her family. This is the reality for OFWs. They spend their whole lives working to give their family a better life, and when they do something for themselves for once, they are called selfish. Joy states what they agreed on with their relationship. 2 months. After that, then they’re done.

“Whatever I’m giving you is not enough to make you stay?”

“Ginawa mo ang mga ‘yon para pilitin akong piliin ka?”

“Kung mahal mo ako, bakit mo ako pinapapili?”

“Kung mahal mo ako, bakit hindi ako ang pinipili mo, Joy?”

Once again, Joy states that this is the first time she’s choosing herself. She just wants to experience life and she’ll come back. But Ethan is scared. The last time a girl said that to him, he lost her. He’s scared to love that much again. Joy expresses her “what ifs,” and that she’s scared, too. Honestly, at this point, everyone pities the both of them. This happens, to a lot of relationships. Making this scene relatable, and definitely tear-jerking.

Ethan reconciles with Edward and he picks up his youngest brother at the airport. They’re now complete. On the other hand, Joy receives a call from Mary Dale’s employer saying that she’s missing. She and her friends looked all over town. Later on, she was found, by Ethan. Mary Dale gave up on being a Domestic Helper.

Joy and Ethan talk on the same place where they first had a chat, at the pier. She’s leaving soon, and he’s going to start up the bar. She will come back soon, she says, and she will visit. Ethan says that his bar will always be waiting for him.

“Ethan, mahal kita. Pero ngayon, mas mahal ko yung sarili ko.”

They reconcile and give their thanks to one another. Ethan proposes for her to spend her final days in Hong Kong with him. She says yes, and says goodbye to her employer, the Chinese family, whom she loved so much. They spend the next days adventuring and experiencing life as a tourist in Hong Kong. Every second mattered, and they spent it wisely. Their last hangout was on a cliff overlooking the city of Hong Kong.

“Ang laki ng mundo. Natatakot ako.”

“Kaya mo ‘yan.”

THIS, is what love is, folks. Motivating each other and helping each other reach their dreams and goals. It’s allowing the person to grow, even if it meant a huge sacrifice. It’s about cherishing every moment you have with each other. It’s about moving forward and building together. And this film captured love and its complexities perfectly. Kudos!

The movie ends by continuing what is first seen on the film. In that clip, Joy was already bound for Canada. She continues her monologue about Hong Kong and how it similar to people. Some are there for a reason, a season, and a lifetime, who will change you, and for her, that was Ethan. Then, we see Ethan at the same balcony, holding an engagement ring, and looking up at the sky. END OF HELLO, LOVE, GOODBYE.

OH MY GOD. That ending, brought everyone in the cinema to tears. It was truly amazing. The whole film was amazing. It showed what it’s like to be an OFW. It showed what family is like, and it showed what love really is. It’s not always roses and chocolates. Hello, Love, Goodbye, isn’t just about love coming and leaving, it’s also about family, life, ambition, and choices.

-MGM