Love You to the Stars and Back is a lovely film about wounded people and bonding over farts

On the surface, Antoinette Jadaone's Love You to the Stars and Back resembles her sleeper hit film That Thing Called Tadhana: both are romantic comedy-road movie hybrids about a couple with chemistry that go up a mountain (or two). But this film takes this into interesting directions, creating something lovely in the process.

Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto, fresh from their MMFF hit Vince and Kath and James, play Caloy and Mika. Caloy is a lively young man with a debilitating illness; Mika is a girl who is still in the process of grieving over her deceased mother and  has trouble accepting her new stepmom into her life.

The film suits the road movie structure well: it serves to highlight the emotional journeys of Caloy and Mika as they struggle with their own problems. Jadaone has used this type of movie in some of her best films, such as the aforementioned Tadhana and the lesser known Relaks, It's Just Pag-ibig. There's also a plot element that raises interesting questions about the gigantic financial burden of healthcare, though for the sake of focus the director prevents it from taking over the rest of the film.

The film primarily works because of its two lead actors: Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto are amazing together. Garcia in particular is phenomenal - it's hard to imagine audiences won't empathize with his character in some fashion. The most powerful scenes in the movie (especially one that takes place on a bridge) shine through thanks to Garcia and Barretto's performances. Jadaone wisely builds the relationship of the two leads by relying on small moments that build up into something more profound, instead of fake grand gestures and manufactured scenes. It makes the eventual romance  flow better and feel more natural.

As with many road movies, the destination isn't as important as the journey, and Love You to the Stars and Back is all about the journey towards love. It's all about how we, wounds and all, find shelter in each other, even if those wounds don't heal easily. It's about how love means we don't have to carry our burdens alone. As a movie, while it stays within the conventions of what you'd expect in a Star Cinema romantic comedy, it does those things exceedingly well. It hits every emotional beat and lives in every moment; it expresses itself with a directorial voice that is experienced and confident. And for me it solidifies Garcia and Barretto's position as a force to be reckoned with as far as love teams go.