MY LETTERS TO HAPPY (2019) Review
Directed by Pertee Brinas
There’s no way that I can write this review without spoiling its main theme which is mental health. There’s no way that this review could justify how delicate its themes are, how its characters and story do more than the usual Filipino romance movies. Because in a way, My Letters to Happy is a movie about mental health wrapped in drama, romance and sometimes comedy.
It’s hard to process My Letters to Happy. Aside from the fact that the camerawork really gave me a headache, entering the cinema without expectations gave me more to think about, more to process after seeing it.
TJ Trinidad and Glaiza de Castro did a tremendous job in My Letters to Happy. They give the film the needed realness, the needed drama and romance that’s appropriate for the story they are telling. I’ve been an admirer of the works of these two especially in the independent movie scene. Their works, though not many, are all above average and My Letters to Happy is one of those.
Let’s go to the story. As my title to this review goes as “A Love Letter to the Ones Who Believed in Us,” My Letters to Happy gives a different perspective to the romance genre and to films that tackles mental health. It feels personal that I get to relate to being that one who never gave up. Relationships are hard, and being with someone who’s going through things that are at times unexplainable, makes a relationship even worse. But there are still those who hope, those who have the courage to wake up and be extra to someone.
That’s the part I love about My Letters to Happy. That even though the film tackles this sad and complicated theme that is mental health, the viewers will still leave the cinema with hope. It doesn’t leave with a depressing note and that’s an admirable feat for a film.
3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
‘My Letters to Happy’ is now showing in cinemas nationwide. Rated PG by the MTRCB.