Netflix has just released Love You Long Time and the ending of this film has raised many questions.
*WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Love You Long Time* — As well as its enormous catalog of content from America, Netflix also gives its subscribers the chance to watch content from countries around the world and one of the latest films to be added to the streaming service is the Filipino romance movie, Love You Long Time, and to say its ending is unexpected is an understatement, to say the least.
Enjoy You Long Time Plot
Starring Eisel Serrano and Carlo Aquino, Love You Long Time tells the story of Ikay, a young and passionate romance screenwriter who is suffering from writer’s block after going through a tough breakup with her boyfriend.
Ikay visits her Aunt Mench for some words of inspiration and advice in the hope of finding her own motivation.
Ikay finds a Walkie-Talkie on her way to work. She hears the voice of Uly after several days.
Ikay starts talking with the mysterious man, and the deeper conversations they have inspire her to write again.
Ikay and Uly have they ever met?
Ikay and Uli have decided to meet up in person after getting to know each other via walkie talkies. And while they do eventually cross paths, their first attempts at finding each other don’t quite work out as intended.
They arrange a meeting at the church near their home. However, when Ikay gets there she sees the same man who was in the accident earlier. She believes this to be Uli.
After clearing up the case of mistaken identity, Ikay and Uli make a second attempt to see each other in person on Valentine’s Day and agree to meet at a restaurant. Then, things take an odd turn.
Ikay is allowed to enter the restaurant without any problems, but Uli cannot because a private function is taking place that evening. In an effort to clear up the confusion, Uli asks a passerby what the date is, and is told that it’s February 14, 2018. Ikay is, on the other hand, in 2022.
Ikay, Uli and their walkie talkies have somehow been able to communicate across time. Ikay feels particularly downcast as this is the first person that she has met since her painful break-up.
Ikay is jealous after she hears Jennylyn speak to Uli in one of their discussions. Uli confronts Ikay about the incident after a few days. However, Uli reveals that Jennylyn has actually been a nurse and has secretly been caring for Uli.
Uli says that at first he hesitated to have chemotherapy, but after meeting Ikay he changed his mind. He wanted to ensure the highest chance of healing.
Ikay, after hearing this news, renews her search for Uli. She finds his Atok home address only to discover that Uli, his wife and children have moved to Manila.
Ikay finally finds a solution to reunite her with Uli. She tells him to head to Baguio on April 20, 2018, as she knows the version of her from that year will be there on that date as she met up with her family to celebrate her aunt’s birthday.
Uli is pleasantly surprised to find Ikay. The two share an uncomfortable yet warm first encounter, as they do not know each other but feel a connection.
Love You Long Time ending explained
Following Ikay and Uli’s first meeting, the whole complexion of the film suddenly shifts as it’s revealed that the car accident that Ikay got into at the very start of the Love You Long Time was much more serious than we were initially led to believe.
Ikay is in a coma at the hospital. The accident wasn’t as minor as it appeared.
It’s at this moment that Love You Long Time reveals that the boyfriend Ikay broke up with in the very first scene was actually Uli and he has been at her bedside throughout the whole film and has been reading from a script she had written.
That’s right, the film’s entire plot of Ikay and Uli conversing via walkie-talkies actually took place in the script Uli had been reading from.
Love You Long Time begins with the same moment that Ikay and Uli first met in real life. Their story ends at their breaking up.
Ikay’s script had mapped out a different future for Ikay and the couple.
The final pages of the script recount the events leading up to their breakup where it’s revealed that Uli had proposed to Ikay but she rejected him – this led to him storming out in the original scene.
In Ikay’s script, she reimaged the pivotal moment. While she still rejected Uli’s proposal, she better explained the reasons for her decision, saying that she still loved Uli but felt that she didn’t want to commit to marrying him just yet as they were both still young and she had plans for her life that marriage would’ve prevented.
Ikay ends their emotional scene by promising Uli she will be back with him once she is prepared to marry him.
However, whether any of these potential future plans end up happening remains a mystery as Ikay is still in a coma by the time of Love You Long Time’s ending.
It’s Love you Long Time Is Available to stream Now on Netflix, after its arrival on streaming service August 18, 2023.