One More Chance

Cathy Garcia-Molina's 2007 Filipino film follows the separation of Popoy and Basha, together since university, and what comes after. Popoy plans everything; Basha realises her own life has disappeared inside that plan and ends the relationship. The film is among the most cited works of Philippine romance and its lines are still in circulation. What has kept it alive is not delaying the promise of reunion but making the reason for the separation convincing: nobody cheats, one of them simply does not see the other. The rapport between John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo is strong. The final section arrives where the genre expects, which softens the film's own criticism. Who it's for: viewers who like Filipino romantic drama and stories about relationships. Who it's not for: anyone wanting an ending outside the template, or put off by a melodramatic register.