Kailangan Kita (2002)

Excellent but underrated film

Absolutely Fantastic

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

"Kailangan Kita" begins with some weird and tacky sounding organ music--and I advise you to keep watching despite the cheesiness of it.The film is about an American who was born in the Philippines. Now, after being in the States most of his life, he's back to his homeland in order to get married to another Filipino expatriate. There are some definite problems. One is that the fiancée is a model--and doesn't seem to have time for the wedding. Again and again, her fiancé needs to call her to find out why she hasn't yet arrived! Another is that slowly the fiancé finds himself falling in love with his future sister-in-law--talk about an awkward situation.While the plot sounds a bit simple, it isn't. There are lots of twists and turns and lots of interesting stuff along the way. My only complaint is that while the love story is sweet in some ways, it's hard to really like the characters because they are also pretty selfish and stupid. See the film and I think you'll see what I mean. But, despite their flaws, the film still IS worth seeing and very interesting.

The acting by Aga Muhlach and Claudine Barretto was first rate, but the overall story was rushed. The role of Chrissy is too obvious for a drama like this, and the ending shot of her smiling as Aga and Claudine kiss passionately at her wedding to someone else- just not believable. I love these actors, and wish I liked the movie better, but I have to say I was disappointed. However, Claudine was lovely, I loved having her look more Asian than she usually is made up, and Aga was great in his role as well. As an Asian American that has never been to the Philippines, it was wonderful to see the landscape of Bicol and get a feel for the country. This movie is good enough for a rainy day, not for a romantic date.

This movie is well played by its actors, in particular Claudine Baretto. She has the ability to convey her emotions to the viewers through her facial expression (and without saying a word). I was not surprise at all that this movie has won so many awards. The movie is about a chef, Carl (Aga Muhlach), from New York city who went back home to get married with a model girlfriend, and who, by the way is in Europe doing a photo shoot. He was drawn closer to his girlfriend's sister, Lena (Claudine Barretto), during the wedding of preparation because of their passion in cooking. The cooking scenes are enjoyable to watch, the sceneries are beautiful (although the cinematography could be improved), local (Bicol region) culture and tradition are emphasized, the script is good and the theme song is great. Overall a good movie to watch.

This movie is a very significant movie for me. Because it did not only focus on the stereotypes about women, being subjected only to household chores and conservative life, but it also tells us how really true love impacts in a person's life. I was amazed by the flow of the story. Love seemed like waiting in vain for forever for Lena and Carl until they finally saw each other. Despite the hardships and difficulties, I admit that I also want to experience real love. It is truly a magnificent story!Kailangan Kita is a good movie about love about life about hardships about the stereotypes on women about family and about reconciliation