A Second Chance

Cathy Garcia-Sampana's 2015 Filipino film is the sequel to a romantic drama made years earlier. Popoy and Basha have married, and the film covers what comes after the wedding: the daily weight of living together. The subject is money and work. The construction company they set up is struggling, debts accumulate and each defends their own decisions; the narrative lets the arguments run long and vindicates neither. Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz returned to their roles. The pair had been followed for a long time in Filipino cinema and the sequel was a large commercial success. The tone is markedly heavier than the first film's. Who it's for: those who saw the first film and like Filipino romantic drama. Who it's not for: viewers new to the series; the film begins without explaining the characters' history.