REVIEW: Love You To The Stars And Back
[A/N: this article is the first draft of the review that I made for an org but I decided that I wanted to post this too so yeah. Enjoy reading.]
For years, the existence of aliens had always been a hot topic for debate. Some scientists say that there is indeed life outside Earth while some people think that they're just plain ridiculous. In the film, Love You To The Stars And Back, Mika believes that nothing is impossible unless you believe hence, the existence of aliens is no exception. This makes Caloy burst into laughter upon hearing it because for him, there are some things that are just way too impossible in this world.
Based on their outlooks in life, we may conclude that Mika is the optimistic one while Caloy is the pessimist. But as the two goes on with the road trip, we would witness the different sides of these characters that if we'd analyze the film very deeply, we would realize that Mika's persistence to be abducted by aliens is actually a metaphor that she wanted to choose death over life and love.
At the beginning of the movie, we could already spot the difference between the two characters. Mika is a healthy, rich girl who wants to be "abducted by aliens" with the news that she'll have a new baby sister from her stepmother while Caloy is a middle-class guy with cancer who still wants to meet with his absentee father despite his mother's disapproval. Through this comparison, we could see the irony of the one feeling more pain than the other who actually has heavier burdens to carry.
But as their road trip progresses, we would find out that these two have their own sources of hope that will make us understand the reason for Mika's rebellion. Mika's source of hope had always been her mom who was also a believer of aliens herself that's why when she was finally "abducted by aliens", Mika felt the emptiness in her heart that was used to be filled with joy by her mom. On the other hand, Caloy's source of hope is his dad. No matter what the past has brought, Caloy firmly believes that there is no way that his dad would turn his back on him once he sees him face-to-face because at the end of the day, he is still his son. However, reality slapped him in the face when his father wouldn't even budge to see him in person, despite his great effort to travel a mile just to make peace with him, which made Caloy break down, question God and release all his frustrations that were used to be tamed by his source of hope. And with that, he suddenly wanted to be "abducted by aliens" too.
People may think that this is just a typical romcom film but there are hidden elements in the film that you might not notice while watching because you were enjoying the scenes too much. The film never revealed that the abduction of aliens is a metaphor of death but there are scenes that could serve as evidence that can prove it such as Mika's mom's hunch before she died that she will be abducted by aliens, the last phone call the two had before finally walking up to Mt. Milagros and Caloy's rejection to the aliens in his dream that made him wake up after his transplant. Also, there are some conspiracy theories that God and the angels are actually aliens so when Mika's mom said that she thinks she's going to be abducted by aliens and that their world might be better than Earth and a place where there is no pain, it's a metaphor that God is "abducting" her to live peacefully in heaven.
The choice of actors in the film was just perfect for the film that you could actually feel the kilig even if you're not a fan of their JoshLia. The two deserve an award for acting because they really delivered the scenes well, especially Joshua in his breakdown scene.
The script was wonderfully written that it didn't even have to tell the details of how Mika's mom died or how Caloy's parents separated or how Caloy even got his cancer. The film just portrayed the feeling of how it's like to be in Mika and Caloy's shoes and based on the tears that I saw from the audience in the cinema, I think the Jadaone did a marvelous job.
The breathtaking view of the Mt. Milagros also gave some jaw-dropping visuals to the viewers. In most of Jadaone's films, she always tries to feature the hidden wonders of the Philippines that usually turns as a tourist destination, just like Sagada, and with the beauty of Mt. Milagros, I think it would be a tourist destination as well. Although Mt. Milagros may not really exist in real life but the mountains used for the film will definitely have more tourists than before. The cinematography was really good however, there was just one scene when the camera movements were too shaky that the girl beside me in the cinema even whispered, "Ano ba yan panira yung camera". Although I understand that the director may want to convey the message that Caloy is not in his proper state of mind hence the shakiness but I think it was a little bit too much.
After the end of their road trip, Mika and Caloy learned that they don't want to be "abducted by aliens" just yet because there are more to life and love that they've been ignoring all along. They may have lost their own sources of hope but there are still other people around that loves them so much and with the help of destiny, they found their new sources of hope through each other.
All in all, I'll give this film a 9/10.