Hope Cafe (2013) Poster

(2013)

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10/10
Hope Cafe- A Movie I Love
ateneopt17 March 2013
The world we live in today can seem so violent, full of sadness, anger, depression, and greed. We glorify and give more emphasis on anything and everything that is shocking, over the top, disgusting, and negative because of what? Profit? Selling more magazines and newspapers? Higher ratings? Has this world really lost what it means to be kind, loving, generous, and open hearted? The movies, the music, and the speech that is used today seeks to divide, arouse hatred, and glorify so much violence. But what we are really about is not that. We are really a species that is born with Love of infinite capacity.

I'm by no means a movie critic but what I do know is I believe in great stories about being human. Movies for me are a way to soothe my soul, inspire, excite, and open up a creativity in my mind and heart. When I watched movies I would be so enamored, inspired, entertained, and enthralled by movies ranging from Star Wars, Rocky, Grease, Gone With The Wind, Superman, Lawrence of Arabia, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Forrest Gump, Terminator, Love Story, The Godfather series, Lord of The Rings, and many more. I loved being taken into the world showing on the screen and feel and be a part of it to entertain me and take me away from the daily challenges and grind of life. For me it was all about how a movie would capture my mind and imagination and most of all my heart and soul.

When I look at how movies have evolved from the classics of yesteryear to today's computer enhanced and digitized sometimes soul-less productions I long for something that would bring back that true human element. Movies that spoke of life's daily struggles, joy, happiness, sadness, redemption, and most of all love. In the last decade I've really learned to appreciate movies that did not need hundreds of millions of dollars to produce. While entertaining to watch, today's mega-blockbuster movies don't leave as big an impression to me as before.

Radhaa has created a movie that brings life to characters and life situations we all can relate to and the biggest impression this movie left on me was not just about its message of hope, faith, and second chances. The biggest message and feeling I got from this was that I felt Radhaa's heart and soul poured all out into this for all to see.

I can imagine how much and what it took to conceptualize this from the concept, to the script, to the casting, the locations, the costumes and wardrobe, the original musical score. the scenery, to the style of the shooting, leaves me deeply appreciative of what an artist does to present a story truly from the heart. Its a movie where the overall theme that hope, faith, and love can help anyone make changes and choices. It shows how one can move forward in life without fear or regret to find happiness and peace. I've watched a lot of other movies where the underlying theme was of personal salvation and the promise of salvation. No, what I loved about this movie is that it shows how people can transform given the opportunity to do so. To learn lessons from the mistakes and the challenges that life throws at you.

This is the kind of movie that will touch not just your heart but also bring to one's mind that we live in a world where we need to practice more love and forgiveness. Yes, life is about choices and we can start by making those choices that pays it forward one heart and soul at a time. We need to take a closer look at the movies that mirror what we all face in life and how we can be better human beings. This is one of those movies that shows how an artist can take a story and bring to life a world that at some point in our lives we were some of those characters. It's a real movie about LIFE.
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10/10
marvelous movie
tpkwqtlk19 April 2013
Warning: Spoilers
From time to time, everybody could use some hope. Would you like to see a movie that will touch your spirit and remind you why life is all about being in it together? That's what a movie I just watched called Hope Café is all about. Radhaa Nilia is the director and producer of this marvelous movie. No matter where you come from, this movie is about universal values, the matters of soul and heart. Although Hope Cafe has a faith based theme, the movie's message is spiritual and non-judgmental. The story follows two characters, Jade and Hector. Jade, played by Radhaa Nilia, is a young mother struggling to survive in this tough world, and to create a new life for her daughter and herself after leaving an abusive relationship. Hector, played by Noel Gugliemi, (Bruce Almighty, Training Day, Fast and Furious) is a street hustler from L.A. looking for a way to avoid living a life full of crime and violence. These two deeply wounded souls are challenged by their past, but together they work hard to find greater meaning in life. There are many interesting characters that make Hope Café such a wonderful movie, including F. Valentino (star of Vin Diesel's: The Ropes) who plays Marco, a charming yet dangerous LA gangster. Another character I really enjoyed was Pastor Miles, played by Filipino superstar and Asian International Award winning actor Raymond Bagatsing. He brings depth of feeling to his character and a sense of calm after the storm. There is also Beatrice, played by Mindy Tiry, a grounding force in Jades life. Her wisdom and love helps Jade change and move forward. This is a well crafted film for first time female filmmaker Radhaa Nilia. Everybody makes mistakes, but if the world around us is so unforgiving, shouldn't we try to do better? Hope Cafe has a wonderful message: it is never too late for love, happiness and joy. But first, we have to take the journey of healing. This universal challenge is what this movie is all about.
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