One More Chance...!

"Ang totoo hanggang ngayon umaasa parin ako na sabihin mong ako parin. Ako na lang. Ako na lang ulit. "

- Basha

"She loved me at my worst. You had me at my best. And you chose to break my heart."

- Popoy 

 "sometimes you have to break up to grow up,it takes two grown ups to make a relationship works.."

 "Siguro kaya tayo iniiwanan ng mga mahal natin dahil may darating pang ibang mas magmamahal sa'tin - 'yung hindi tayo sasaktan at paasahin...'yung magtatama ng lahat ng mali sa buhay natin.'

Undeniably, One More Chance is one of the most beloved Filipino films in the country. This movie was shown last November 2007 but until now it's still being talked about. It is as well considered as one of the top grossing films of all times, earning a whooping  PHP 152,791,025 during its' entire run. It features the team up of  two credible actors John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo. The film is directed by award-winning director Cathy Garcia Molina and released by Star Cinema. 

SYNOPSIS:

Their love story began when they first met as students at the University of Santo Tomas: Popoy (John Lloyd Cruz) was majoring in Engineering while Basha (Bea Alonzo) was a freshman in Architecture. They had been inseparable and did everything together— eating, studying and attending parties. Both their families loved them, they shared mutual friends and eventually ended up working for the same firm. Every single component of their lives revolved around each other. So naturally, everyone assumed that they would inevitably get married someday, with Architect Basha designing and planning their dream house while Engineer Popoy would build it. Everything could not be more perfect.

At least, that was what Popoy thought. What he did not know was that Basha was not as sure about their future as Popoy seemed to be.

All Popoy's nagging and excessive planning took a toll on Basha. Not only was she tired of trying to carve out her own mark in the hierarchy of the firm, but she also grew weary of Popoy always stepping in to fix things for her. One day, Basha told Popoy that she wanted to resign and move to a smaller firm where she could be given better opportunities to design independently, completely blindsiding her bewildered beau. She revealed the issue that had been brewing inside her for the past year: the real reason why she wanted to leave the company was that she was tired of Popoy and their relationship. She felt hindered by Popoy's constant attention and thought that she had never been given the chance to decide and plan for herself because he always did everything. Popoy was speechless and devastated. That same night, Basha broke up with him, reasoning that she needed the space to grow on her own.

Not knowing how to pick himself up after the love of his life left him, Popoy struggled to live his new life alone. Meanwhile, Basha followed through with her plans to resign from the firm. For a while, she drifted jobless, customizing T-shirts with unusual patterns and designs, until she was offered to work for a smaller firm. Accepting the offer, she began to feel the professional freedom she had been longing for. Popoy and Basha tried to live without each other but the ties that bound them made it difficult for either of them to completely move on, especially when their families and friends were constant reminders of the promises and dreams they had made during their happier days.

Slowly, Popoy moved on and discovered that there was life after Basha; on the other hand, Basha began to find her solitary journey to be harder than she had imagined, especially when Popoy began dating another girl. Although a part of her wanted to get him back, she reminded herself that the decision to terminate the relationship was hers alone.

Opportunity knocked on their door when Popoy's aunt commissioned them to build her house together. After initially feeling awkward, Popoy and Basha eventually warmed up towards each other, especially after memories of the five years they spent together resurfaced. Slowly and unconsciously, they fell into their old routines and found themselves enjoying each other's company once again. Both realized how much they had missed each other, at the same time acknowledging how much they each had changed.

But Popoy knew that giving in would mean that they would go back to how they were before, that she will just go on her way again and ignore him when she grew tired again of their relationship and he will be left alone again and hurt.

BONUS [here are some of the most famous lines from our beloved Basha and Popoy]... 

"kagustuhan ko naman ito di ba? bakit ako ang nasasaktan ng sobra,a lam mo lagi ko pa ding sinasabi sana ako, sana ako nalang, sana ako nalang ulit.." - Basha 

"Not so nice to meet you.""Malaki lang ang katawan mo pero 'di mo ko kayang patumbahin!" - Popoy

Mahal mo pa ba siya?
Ayokong nakikitang nasasaktan.
(She reaches out and softly closes his eyes.) Para kung masaktan man ako, hindi mo makikita...Mahal mo pa ba siya?
(He starts to sob) I'm sorry.

"baka kaya tayo iniiwan ng taong mahal natin, kasi baka may bagong darating na mas ok, na mas mamahalin tayo, yun taong di tau sasaktan at paasahin, un nag-iisang taong magtatama ng mali sa buhay natin, ng lahat ng mali sa buhay natin,"

"ipikit mo mga mata mo,para hindi mo makitang nasasaktan ako.." 

"Ten years from now, ganito parin kaya tayo?"
"Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, forever and ever!"
"Promise?"
"Promise."

"I don't even know kung tama 'tong ginagawa ko, pero alam ko kailangan ko nang tapusin 'to."
"Basha, mahal mo pa ba 'ko?"
"Poy, I'm so sorry."

When love ends...

"Five years? Itatapon mo lang lahat?"
"Kailangan ko to, kailangan mo rin."
"Pero ikaw ang kailangan ko."

"If kaya pang ayusin pilitin. What if this is really what both of you need? Then just be strong. Magiging mahirap at masakit pero hopefully all the pain will be worth it."  

I will give this movie 9.5 out of 10 stars.