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Hello, Love, Goodbye

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Hello, Love, Goodbye

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Hello, Love, Goodbye

Hello, Love, Goodbye is a 2019 Filipino romantic drama film directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina and produced by Carlo L. Katigbak and Olivia M. Lamasan from a story and screenplay written by Carmi G. Raymundo, with Rona Co, Crystal S. San Miguel, and Garcia-Molina co-writing the latter. It stars Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards, with several cast members including Kakai Bautista, Lito Pimentel, Joross Gamboa, Maymay Entrata, Lovely Abella, and Jameson Blake. In the film, a struggling domestic worker and a bartender attempt to reconcile their personal careers and love for each other in Hong Kong.

With a total revenue of ₱880 million, Hello, Love, Goodbye became the highest-grossing Philippine film of all time until it was surpassed by Rewind in January 2024. It won several international and local accolades, including Asian Academy Creative Awards, Box Office Entertainment and PMPC Star awards. Produced and distributed by Star Cinema, the film was theatrically released on July 31, 2019, in the Philippines and started screening internationally on August 1, 2019. A sequel, Hello, Love, Again, was released on November 13, 2024, with Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards reprising their roles.

Joy is a Filipino domestic helper in Hong Kong despite having a degree in nursing. She aims to save enough money to find a better job in Canada and bring over her family from the Philippines. To attain this goal, she takes on side hustles even though it violates her work permit. However, her father Celso is adamant that the family should migrate to Hong Kong to be reunited with his estranged wife Lita, who is married to Wayne, a Hongkonger who abuses her. While working illegally as a bar tout in Lan Kwai Fong, Joy catches the attention of the Filipino bartender Ethan, whom she rebuffs. When police officers conduct a random inspection on foreign workers, Joy hastily kisses Ethan to distract them.

Joy initially resists Ethan's advances, but after enduring an awkward visit to Lita, being scolded by her employer, and encountering her ex-boyfriend JM and his wife, Joy agrees to have a one-night stand with Ethan at a motel. As they are about to begin, Joy rushes out and cries. As Ethan follows, she explains her frustrations with life, while Ethan confesses to being a womanizer who is unsure of what to do in life. This leads to a conditional understanding between them to comfort each other in the remaining four months before Joy moves to Canada.

Ethan helps Joy get hired as a dishwasher at the bar. One night, Ethan's younger brother Edward has a drunken outburst at the bar, accusing Ethan of failing his family responsibilities. Ethan is then absent for several days and Joy traces him to his father Mario's house in Cheung Chau. Ethan then opens up about his past: his parents became Hong Kong residents and moved the family there. He became estranged from his family when he followed his then-girlfriend Tanya to the United States. After their breakup, he was deported for overstaying. Edward, who was left alone to care for the stroke-debilitated Mario, developed a grudge against Ethan. Joy and Ethan then return to Hong Kong Island. Joy finishes first runner-up at a beauty pageant but becomes jealous when Tanya, who is a judge at the pageant, meets with Ethan. But Ethan reassures Joy and their relationship becomes official.

Ethan reveals his plans of setting up his own bar to redeem himself to his family and to convince Joy to remain in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Joy, who finally has her departure for Canada confirmed, confronts Lita, who had been beaten again by Wayne. Lita confesses that she no longer loves Celso, who forced her into a sham marriage with her then-employer for her to gain permanent residency and later bring the family to Hong Kong. Upon hearing this from Joy, Celso calls off any hope of the family reuniting, throwing Joy's plans into disarray.

Ethan asks Joy if she could pretend to be an investor in his upcoming bar, which means that Joy would have to forego her departure for Canada. This leads to an argument wherein Ethan reveals that he wants to spend his future with Joy, who is steadfast on going to Canada. However, Ethan relents when Joy reminds him that their relationship was bound by the conditions that they had set out previously and chastises him for selfishly discouraging her from pursuing her dreams. Ethan later reconciles with his family and convinces Joy to spend her last days in Hong Kong enjoying each other's company as tourists. As the couple finally profess their love for each other, Ethan promises that they will meet again, while Joy promises to visit his bar, provisionally named Ethan's Joy, in the future. The film ends with Joy at the airport on her way to Canada.

The film stars Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards. Both are affiliated with the two major rival networks in the Philippines: Bernardo with ABS-CBN and Richards with GMA Network. The two also belonged to two different "love teams": Bernardo with Daniel Padilla in Kathniel and Richards with Maine Mendoza in AlDub. Together, they play the role of two Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong who became romantically involved with each other. Director Cathy Garcia-Molina said that the two main cast members were not subjected to "baby or special treatment" for the film project. Benjie Paras was originally going to be in the film as the father of Bernardo's character, but backed out due to scheduling conflicts.

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