Kita Kita: Movie Review

With its emotionally captivating material, outstanding performances and undeniable chemistry from its leads and stunning cinematography featuring Hokkaido, "Kita Kita" presents a balance of familiarity and uniqueness that will surely please all kinds of audiences.

Lea (Alessandra de Rossi) is a Filipino living in Sapporo and working as a tour guide. For two years, she has been engaged to a Japanese but when she discovers that her fiancé has been cheating on her, she suffers temporary blindness due to the stress and shock. As Lea tries to get back her eyesight, her neighbor and fellow Filipino Tonyo (Empoy Marquez) tries his best get the attention of Lea. At first, Lea simply ignores him but Tonyo is persistent and is determined to befriend her at all cost. Gradually Lea allows Tonyo to be close to her and might be the way to not only heal her eyes but also her heart.

The first thing that struck us with "Kita Kita" is how simple the story started and eventually blossomed into something complicated and unexpected. The duality and parallelism of Lea's and Tonyo's stories are at the crux of the film's charm and made the film interesting from start to finish. But this is also the part where the film takes a slight tumble in our opinion. The film devolves into a story of stalking. Others may take the issue lightly, when compared to the grand scheme of things, but others might also find it creepy, unnerving even an unacceptable revelation. In all honesty, we didn't think much of it but we won't deny that it did dampen our mood a bit. Another factor for the film's success is the unusual yet successful pairing of Alessandra de Rossi and Empoy Marquez. Who would have known how great the chemistry between the two would have but Empoy's wit was the perfect counterpoint to Lea's bitterness. It also helps that both had stellar performances coming out as natural and authentic. Overall, "Kita Kita" will swoon over even the hardest of hearts with its twists and turns and heartfelt performances from its cast.

Rating: 4 and a half reels




Why you should watch it:
- emotionally captivating material
- great chemistry between the lead's unlikely pairing

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the film's eventual revelation can be a bit too creepy