Meet Cute
Every romantic movie has to start somewhere. And their venue of choice? Coffee shop.
Our girl, Celeste Francisco (Bela Padilla), who gives her name to the barista as “Katy Perry”, strikes me as a cheeky, funny and adorkable girl that won Jesse’s heart. She doesn’t want to be just Facebook friends with Jesse but she secretly stalks him for years until it hurts AF.
Meet Jesse Abaya (Carlo Aquino), the rockstar, he was full of angst and doesn’t want to finish med school when he met Celeste. He probably fell in love with Celeste the first time they met but the director dictates they meet again a few years after.
What are the odds of meeting a complete stranger at a coffee shop and enjoy his companionship? The stars and planets aligned. It was in their favor.
Bonus: Enter Moira dela Torre, the hugot queen of hugot songs, no she isn’t one of the characters but she is one of the reasons that adds the poignant and longing feels as she heart-wrenchingly serenades us with her own version of Johnny Cash’s You Are My Sunshine. A potential LSS, if you ask me.
SMH. Moira is giving Barry Manilow a run for his money.
Right timing
Celeste and Jesse met again. But timing is everything. Right love + bad timing = heartbreak. WARNING: TOTGA movie alert!
At one point in our life, there is always that one person that you cannot get out of your mind. No matter how many years have passed, how many accomplishments you’ve made but there seems to be a reminder of that unforgettable person everywhere you go.
“We meet love in hellos. We meet love in goodbyes. But will we ever meet the hellos again? Or just the goodbyes?”
Taking chances
According to Celeste, compromise is tantamount to sacrifice. But according to Jesse:
“Ayoko rin naman ng compromise. Eh, kasi wala rin namang absolute, eh. ‘Yong meron lang, ‘yung nararamdaman ko dun sa sandaling naniniwala ako. ‘Yun lang ang hawak ko. ‘Yun lang.”
After years of separation, after years of adding up Celeste as a Facebook friend, Jesse took a chance, bought a ticket and fly to St. Gallen to tell Celeste that he loves her.
Jesse finally made his What-If a realization after saying these words to Celeste:
“Alam mo ang “what ifs” isa ‘yan sa pinakamahirap na tanong kasi maraming variables, maraming factors unless may parallel universe. Pero isa lang ang puwedeng posible, ang nangyari na.”
I believe in YOLO. Drink a glass of alcohol. Take a deep breath and gather all your courage with every fiber of your being. Take a chance, buy a ticket (if applicable) and fight for your love. #LabanLoveLife
Letting go
It all starts with flirty banter between Celeste and Jesse, then shifted to deep longing silence (the kind where they all laid out their hearts on the table beside their coffee cups for both of them to see), full of emotions and with only the eyes talking while Moira soulfully wails about sunshine. And like all TOTGA films, it ends with rocking sobs muffled by thick towels—the kind that will rock you to the core.
Their love story happened in 3 days but with a few years in between: 2012, 2016 and 2018. And it all starts with a cup of coffee and ends in tears. Moral lesson: huwag kang mag-inarte. Kung mahal mo siya, ipaglaban mo.
PS: don’t go breaking hearts on Christmas. It is against the law.
