Only You makes my heart pound

Only You always tops my list whenever anyone asks me about movie suggestions. I love traveling, both locally and abroad, and one of my dream destinations is Italy. I’m also an art history buff so I guess Italy (where the movie was mostly shot) really got me hooked.

"Do you believe in destiny?" asks Peter (Robert Downey, Jr.). The drunk old man answers, "It is written in the stars." These two lines from the movie never fail to raise questions in my mind. I always wonder how each of our destinies is planned. Why do we end up where we are? And for what purpose?

The funny part is that Faith (Marisa Tomei) believes in fortune-telling just as I do. She grows up and still remembers what the Ouija Board and the fortune teller had told her (about Damon Bradley, her supposed "destiny") several years ago. Similarly, I believe in the horoscope and other "know-your-future" stuff. This is one reason why I could relate to the movie.

Then comes the part when Faith hastily decides to go to Italy to search for her Destiny whom she talked to on the phone while looking for her fiancée. To add spice and humor, her sister-in-law and best friend Kate joins her. Being so excited, Faith does not have any idea that Kate and her husband (Faith’s brother) are having problems in their relationship. Together, the two women search for love and are bound for a romantic journey to Italy.

This is the part where my heart literally starts to pound. The sight of Italy and the movie’s background music make me imagine that I am there, riding on one of the gondolas. It’s as if I were there, just waiting for my feet to step on the grounds of Italy.

The story, of course, makes the movie more exciting, especially the part when Faith meets Peter (Robert Downey Jr.) who, she is made to believe, is Damon Bradley. Faith feels that everything is in place and going smoothly. She is so in love, knowing in an instant that she has found Damon Bradley.

Meanwhile, Kate finds love in an Italian named Giovanni. What an exciting experience to find love in a foreign land! As the movie continues, my mind wonders, "What if I am there? Would I have the same experience? Would I bump into a Peter or a Damon Bradley?"

As the movie progresses, the locations get better and better. The lead characters go to a resort to meet the "so-called" real Damon Bradley (another trick of Peter to stop Faith from leaving Italy). The sceneries are so beautiful that they make me want to freeze the screen for a while for a good look at the place.

And so it happens that the truth comes out. Faith is so disappointed and is mad at Peter. But Peter tries to convince her it is destiny that wants them to be together. If not, both of them wouldn’t be in Italy. As for Kate, she is surprised that her destiny–her husband– followed her to Italy. Will Faith give up her growing love for Peter just because he’s not Damon Bradley? Will Kate choose her husband or Giovanni? The story just keeps posing questions. In the end, Faith wakes up from her desperation to find Damon Bradley and heads straight into Peter’s arms. Kate and her husband, meanwhile, decide to stay in Italy for a romantic vacation.The movie ends.

It makes me realize that no matter how we run away from our destiny, it will catch up with us and bring us to where we should be. We are where we are because there is something for us there – a purpose or something for us to fulfill, just like the one Faith and Kate experience in Italy as they try to search for love.

As I end this article, I’m beginning to feel the same heart-pounding experience. I guess I will watch Only You again on VCD. You see, I never get tired of the feeling.