Kita Kita

Kita Kita

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo
Produced by Lucky Blanco
Written by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo
Starring
Narrated by Piolo Pascual[1]
Music by Arlene Flerida Calvo
Cinematography Boy Yñiguez
Edited by Marya Ignacio
Production
company
Release date
  • March 10, 2017 (2017-03-10) (Osaka Asian Film Festival)
  • July 19, 2017 (2017-07-19) (Philippines)
Running time
 95 minutes[2]
Country Philippines
Language Filipino
Budget ₱10 million[3]
Box office ₱300 million[4]

Kita Kita (I See You; キタ キタ) is a 2017 Philippine romantic comedy film written and directed by Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo, and starring Alessandra de Rossi and Empoy Marquez. Set in various parts of Sapporo, Japan,[5] the film follows Lea (De Rossi), a Filipino tourist guide living in Japan who goes blind having witnessed her Japanese fiancè's infidelity. Afterwhile, fellow Filipino and charmer Tonyo (Marquez) makes a sudden appearance and befriends the visually impaired Lea in best possible ways and eventually they fall for one another. The film is a co-production between Piolo Pascual's and Joyce Bernal's Spring Films, and Viva Films.

Kita Kita was first shown in Japan at the 12th Osaka Asian Film Festival in March 2017[6] before expanding to a wider release in the Philippines on July 19, 2017 to highly positive reviews. The film has been deemed a sleeper hit,[7] grossing ₱100 million in its first week and ₱240 million the following week, against a modest budget of ₱10 million. In its third week it reached ₱300 million, making it the highest-grossing Philippine independent film.[4]

Plot

Lea (Alessandra de Rossi) is a Filipina tourist guide living in Sapporo, Japan who is engaged to Nobu, a young Japanese man. One night, after receiving a note to meet up at a beer house, she discovers her fìancè flirting with another Filipino-Japanese woman. Before venting out her anger, she counts slowly from one to ten, and recalls all the happy memories she shared with Nobu. Walking out, she starts to lose her sight before collapsing.

Some time later (after being visited by her sister, and still adjusting to life with stress induced blindness), Tonyo (Empoy Marquez), her next-door neighbor, introduces himself to her, and makes an effort to cook for her and cheer her up despite being rebuffed several times. He finally persuades her to tour with him in and around the city; and as they spend more time together, they fall in love. One night Lea begins to regain her sight and, for the first time sees Tonyo, who then dies after being hit by a vehicle while walking towards her.

After Tonyo's death, Lea visits his home, and discovers a letter written for her. She later learns that Tonyo moved from Tokyo to Sapporo, having suffered a broken heart. It is then revealed that Lea has, in fact met him early on; he was a drunken man who sleeps in front of Lea's home and has been consistently cared for by her, providing him with cabbage for food and a blanket. Touched by her kindness, he vows to better himself, and moves to a house right across from Lea's. One night, a heartbroken Lea spends time instead with a banana mascot who, unbeknownst to her, is also Tonyo; he was the one who sent her a note to meet up at a beer house after discovering her fiancè's infidelity and carries her home after she collapsed the night she lost her sight. It was also revealed in the letter that Tonyo was suffering from a heart problem. His heart has been enlarged since he was nine years old and was told that it can burst anytime and he would die, thus wanting him to do everything for Lea before it happens.

Overcome with sadness, she visits all the places she and Tonyo had been to and imagines him with her.

Cast

Alessandra de Rossi (left) and Empoy Marquez (right) played the film's leads.
a Filipino tour guide in Sapporo. She is left heart broken after she caught her Japanese boyfriend cheating with a Filipino-Japanese woman and went blind.[11]
De Rossi chose to do the role because she wanted to portray a character being courted instead of her previous roles of someone who would steal the boyfriend of another character. She describes the film in relation to her role as her "lightest film" and remarks that she was used to roles which involved heavy drama which she did not like due to restrictions she experienced.[1]
a fellow Filipino who lives across the street from Lea. Empoy Marquez portrayed the character which, according to co-producer Piolo Pascual, was specifically written for Marquez. Pascual has also expressed his desire to do the role but later relinquished it to Marquez.[12]
Director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo described Marquez as "a discovery" for his portrayal as Tonyo remarking that the actor is not only good in doing comedies but also "has a heart for acting". She says that Marquez's portrayal of his character will make the audience see beyond his physical attributes.[13] Bernardo also wanted the audience to see Marquez who has a reputation as a comedian to see his "serious side" saying that she wanted to show a balance of Marquez's serious and comedic sides through the film.[1]

The characters of de Rossi and Marquez was characterized by Bernardo as two lonely Filipinos in Japan who were brought together due to their shared isolation. According to the director, the story of the film wouldn't work well if it was set in the Philippines.[14]

Pascual did a voice role as the narrator.[1]

Production

Sapporo, the primary setting of the film.

Development

One of the co-producers of Kita Kita, Lucky Blanco, was responsible for initiating the concept for the film. The original for the film was a romance story involving three people characterized as unattractive. Blanco forwarded a script to director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo who decided to give focus to only two characters that would be later portrayed by Empoy Marquez and Alessandra de Ross.[14] The concept was revised to a romantic-comedy concept involving a "not so good-looking" man in a film which will be shot "in a beautiful place". Kita Kita was green-lit for production after the second draft of the script was reviewed.[13]

Bernardo said that she wanted Kita Kita to focus on the concept of "of falling in love even if you don’t see the person" and added that the story of the film also focuses on the life of Overseas Filipino Workers particularly on their experiences of entering into romantic relationships during their stay outside the Philippines.[13]

Spring Films, an independent film production outfit co-owned by actor Piolo Pascual and director Joyce Bernal,[15] made Kita Kita with a budget of ₱10 million[3] (Approx. USD 211,000). It was co-produced by Viva Films.[16]

Filming

The Fortune Bell in Mount Moiwa.

Principal photography was done in Hokkaido, Japan.[17] Among the shooting locations in Sapporo are Odori Park, the Sapporo TV Tower, Susukino, the Sapporo Clock Tower, the Historical Village of Hokkaido, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Moiwa Mountain and Moerenuma Park, in Sapporo. In Otaru, scenes were shot at the Otaru Music Box Museum and the Otaru Canal. Filming was also done in the Shikisai Hill flower park of Biei town in Kamikawa and on Mount Asahi in Higashikawa.[18]

Boy Yñiguez was responsible for the cinematography.[19]

Post-production

The film was intended to be submitted as an entry to the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival. It was pulled out from the film festival because of a rule that all entry films are to be picture lock or bared from further editing once they are submitted to the film festival organizers. Spring Films saw the need for re-editing. One of their decisions was to trim the Kita Kita to 85 minutes for its theatrical run.[20]

Release

Marketing

In March 2017, a promotional teaser video showing a scene between the characters of Empoy Marquez and Alessandra de Rossi having a romantic conversation while eating ramen was released.[21]

An advance screening of Kita Kita was held at the University of the Philippines Cine Adarna in late May 2017 which led to the promotion of the film through word-of-mouth marketing in social media. The actors and producers made use of the radio and television platforms as well as made mall appearances to promote the film.[22]

The full trailer of Kita Kita was released on May 16, 2017.[23] By July 4, 2017, the trailer recorded 6.4 million views in Facebook.[13]

Osaka Asian Film Festival

Kita Kita premiered at the 12th Osaka Asian Film Festival which ran from March 3–12, 2017 and vied for the Grand Prix and Most Promising Talent awards. It was one of the three Philippine films competed for the honors aforementioned alongside Jerrold Tarog's Bliss and Borgy Torre's Tisay.[24] The screening schedule of the film in the film festival was on March 10 and 11, 2017.[2]

Theatrical run

Kita Kita was submitted to the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival as a candidate bidding to be selected as one of the eight films to be shown during the run of the film festival but Spring Films decided to pull out from the film festival before the official eight entries were announced.[20]

The film premiered in the Philippines on July 19, 2017 and had a special screening attended by Filipino celebrities and filmmakers four days prior.[25] It was also highly anticipated in social media by the viewers.[16]

Director Bernardo expected that the film will be pulled out from theaters the day after its premiere and the producers only hoped for the gross receipt would break even with the ₱10 million budget.[14] Defying expectations, the film opened to ₱90 million in its first week across 120 locations.[16] By July 27, 2017, it has already screened in 150 locations.[3] In August 2017, the gross receipt went to ₱230 million[26] and ₱240 million later on.[27] Three weeks later, it reached ₱300 million, surpassing Heneral Luna's ₱257 million as the highest-grossing Philippine independent film.[4]

Critical reception

Kita Kita was given an "A" grade by the Cinema Evaluation Board[26] and was met with positive reviews from critics.[28] Oggs Cruz of Rappler praised the film's lovable characters and the plot which did not rely heavily in romantic-comedy tropes; he said: "Kita Kita pursued its novelty of molding captivating characters out of unexpected leads while creating around them a droll and exotic world where both hard heartaches and fast hope collide. It is buoyant, without being too eager."[29] Wanggo Gallaga of Interaksyon offered similar commentary on the plot and characters, arguing that it is "a charming film that gives us a fresh look into the rom-com genre. It doesn't rely on prefabricated chemistry or overly complicated plots".[30] Ro Manalo of Cosmopolitan Philippines gave praise to its visuals and cinematography, and found the plot and characters endearing.[31] Fred Hawson of ABS-CBN News scored it 8/10 and commended the on-screen relationship between Empoy Marquez and Alessandra de Rossi, saying: "It was this unlikely pairing of De Rossi and Marquez that made Kita Kita work so well to engage its viewers to laugh and cry."[32]

Writing for Esquire Philippines, Angelica Gutierrez opined that while she found the film essentially favorable, she argued that it is a "stalker's fantasy", citing Empoy Marquez's character to be downright sinister for "tak[ing] advantage" of De Rossi's character's blindness throughout. She said,

Why do we encourage persistence? Why isn't it enough when a woman says 'no' the first time? (And no, it's no different whether the guy in question is handsome or not). If Tonyo had really just happened to live across the street, approached Lea with no ulterior motives, and fallen in love with her, then it could have made for a beautiful film.[33]

Unauthorized release

The film's complete version had been leaked on Facebook by the first week of August 2017. One of the site's registered users reportedly posted it on August 4, garnering almost 2,000 views and was subsequently shared 70 times at 3:40 p.m.; it got taken down the following day at exactly 5 a.m.. Production outfits Spring Films and Viva Films denounced the leak in a joint warning, while co-producer Piolo Pascual and director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo through Instagram and Facebook.[34]

Soundtrack

The classic hit "Two Less Lonely People in the World" was recorded by KZ Tandingan and served as the theme song of the film. It was originally recorded by the Australian soft rock duo Air Supply from their 1982 album Now And Forever.[35]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Villano, Alexa (August 3, 2017). "5 fun facts about the Alempoy movie Kita Kita". Rappler. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "KITA KITA". Osaka Asian Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "Alessandra de Rossi reveals plans for new film with Empoy". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs (in English and Filipino). July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "'Kita Kita' passes 'Heneral Luna' as PH's top grossing indie movie". ABS-CBN News. August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  5. ↑ Flores, Karen (August 4, 2017). "Go on a Kita Kita tour of Sapporo, Japan". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  6. ↑ Inquirer, Philippine Daily. "9 PH films in Osaka fest". Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  7. ↑ [8][9][10]
  8. ↑ San Diego Jr., Bayani (July 27, 2017). "Sleeper hit surprises indie director". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Like Kita Kita, 7 other local films that became surprise blockbusters". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  10. ↑ Lopez, Jacinda A. (August 1, 2017). "Kita Kita Stars Alessandra + Empoy Have A New Film In The Works". Cosmopolitan Philippines. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Derek ready to start a family". Malaya Business Insight. August 1, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  12. ↑ "How Piolo almost took Empoy's role on Kita Kita". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. July 18, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Iglesias, Iza (July 4, 2017). "Breaking traditional love teams in ‘Kita Kita’". The Manila Times. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 Jaucian, Don (August 7, 2017). "The director of 'Kita Kita' on the film’s success". CNN Philippines. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Piolo Pascual on Kita Kita: ‘It’s one great story that needed to be told’". Interaksyon.com. July 28, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  16. 1 2 3 Abanilla, Clarizel (July 27, 2017). "Kita Kita earns P90M on its first week". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  17. ↑ Dimaculangan, Jocelyn (July 31, 2017). "Kita Kita grosses P200 million says Spring Films; new Alessandra-Empoy movie in the works". PEP.ph. Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  18. ↑ De la Cruz, Christa (July 26, 2017). "Where to go in Hokkaido according to Kita Kita". Spot.ph. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  19. ↑ Severino, Howie (August 5, 2017). "In ‘Kita Kita’, a win for plain-looking strivers with nerve". GMA News. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  20. 1 2 Llanera, Melba (November 23, 2016). "Piolo explains why Alessandra-Empoy movie pulled out from MMFF 2016". PEP.ph. Philippine Entertainment Portal, Inc. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  21. ↑ "This promising indie film teases a sweet but unlikely romance". Spot.ph. March 10, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  22. ↑ Sallan, Edwin (July 26, 2017). "Odd coupling, no-frills storytelling power Kita Kita to box office success". InterAksyon. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  23. ↑ Guno, Niña (May 18, 2017). "‘Kita Kita’ starring Alessandra de Rossi, Empoy releases full trailer". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  24. ↑ San Diego, Bayani Jr. (February 18, 2017). "PH films in Osaka fest". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Mga artista dumagsa sa special screening ng Kita Kita" [Celebrities rushed to see the special screening of Kita Kita]. ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs (in Filipino). July 19, 2017. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  26. 1 2 Anarcon, Patrick (August 2, 2017). "Kita Kita grosses P230 million; Alessandra admits, "Napapagod ako sa ka-showbisan ng mga tao."" [Kita Kita grosses P230 million; Alessandra admits, "I'm getting tired of the showbizness of people."]. Philippine Entertainment Portal (in English and Filipino). Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  27. ↑ "'Kita Kita' releases never-before-seen footage". ABS-CBN News. August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Kita Kita exceeds expectations with P90-M opening week". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. July 26, 2017. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  29. ↑ Cruz, Oggs (July 28, 2017). "Kita Kita review: brisk, whimsical and always delightful". Rappler. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  30. ↑ Gallaga, Wanggo (July 25, 2017). "REVIEW: Kita Kita is an eye-opener for the romantic comedy genre". Interaksyon.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  31. ↑ Manalo, Ro (July 21, 2017). "An Honest Review Of 'Kita Kita' By A Hopeful Romantic". Cosmopolitan Philippines. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  32. ↑ Hawson, Fred (July 20, 2017). "Movie review: 'Kita Kita' is not your typical rom-com". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  33. ↑ Gutierrez, Angelica (August 8, 2017). "Why Don't More People See How Kita Kita Romanticizes Stalking?". Esquire Philippines. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Kita Kita continues to leak on Facebook despite producers' warning". Rappler. August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  35. ↑ Wish 107.5 (July 12, 2017), KZ Tandingan covers "Two Less Lonely People In The World" (Kita Kita OST) LIVE on Wish 107.5 Bus, archived from the original on August 4, 2017, retrieved July 26, 2017
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.