Hello, Love, Again – Movie Reviews by Ry!

Hello, Love, Again – A Distance of Hearts and Time: Can We Be … Together?

What is it to feel worth in the escape?  There are many avenues to take along the path, but the way we feel is a delicate trait.  In the medium of film, to find that feeling can be any number of many things.  No matter what road is traveled, if the story can grip the right way … you will feel that worth.  In this review, I look at the latest romance film.  In a tale that continues from a popular original, we head off on the next chapter of hardship, distance and hope.  For all the clichés that abound, Hello, Love, Again is a romance journey that builds towards the ultimate question … is it worth another try? 

In a tale of long-distance romance and time, two individuals will once again be tested on what it really means to fall in love.  The ideals of the moment become a crossroads of obvious trends and unique paths.  This is something true for any genre, but especially for romance tales.  To delve into the typical ‘person falls for another’ scenario … it becomes a question of, how can you make the heart feel something in the obvious.  Many films (in this genre) fall in line with the typical scenario, never trying to be more than clichés and melodramatic scenes.  With this latest romance film, it becomes a tale of two halves.  A sequel to a popular foreign film (Hello, Love, Goodbye) we come back into this world, finding Ethan (Alden Richards) and Joy (Kathryn Bernardo) are still trying to keep their relationship intact.  The beginning provides a general setup, showcasing their long-distance relationship through a montage of cheesy conversations, romantic motifs and this alluring factor of ‘will they/won’t they’ survive the situation.  Joy is attempting to start her life in Canada, while Ethan is trying to keep his business alive in Hong Kong.  After the tension of ‘being apart’ reaches a certain crossroads, the journey moves into sequencing scenes out of time.  This film technique builds up an ominous tension that compounds certain realistic issues into a crossroads of their relationship.  This crossroads provides the journey to (even as it moves back-and-forth) on a specific present-day moment, where their relationship has hit a fragile path.  In this ‘central’ timed present scenario, Ethan is now in a precarious situation (starting a new life in Canada) but has to stay humble within Joy’s ambitions of being a nurse in New York.  Their interactions push the ‘will they/won’t they’ scenario into a whole new spectrum.  Surrounded by a new cast of individuals, the dancing act of romance and friendship begins to lift beyond the typical genre plays by putting a focus on the sensibilities of the individual.  For all the commonalities to the genre, it is the growth in the characters that provide a new look at that notion of … is it worth to try once more?

As Ethan and Joy navigate new waters in an amicable way, it becomes an unearthing of the ‘past’ situations (the ominous tone played by the shifting time), creating a place where old and new feelings become a conflict of hope and trust.  This layering of personal conflict creates a wholesome ordeal in their interactions, providing a nuance to the broad appeal of romance, but the grounded nature of the immigrant tale.  Seeing conflicts on multiple fronts, Ethan and Joy stand at a crossroad of time and choice.  With decisions having to be made, we head into a third act that weaves through telegraph moments and wholesome reflections of their situation.  This leads to a heartfelt climax and full circle epilogue.  Hello, Love, Again is a sequel that provides an inventive chapter in the hardship of romance.  If you are a fan of the original film, romance or foreign films, this is one for you.  I say for anyone, there is enough to hear that will warm your heart at the theaters.

Full Score – 3.5 out of 5 (Matinee)