Basha's Line

When I first watched One More Chance (2007), I was impressed with the dialogue. Not all of it, but in general. It's fun, witty, dramatic but not that cheesy-- a whole level classier than its contemporaries and predecessors. Except Trisha's lines which I hate.

Cannot even read this aloud without squirming!

My favorite is Basha's lines during her climactic confrontation with Popoy, particularly the last bit.

Last bit: sana ako pa rin, ako na lang, ako na lang ulit.
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By the last bit, she's just saying "sana mahal mo pa rin ako at tayo na lang ulit kasi mahal pa rin kita" but not at all does she use the word "mahal" and this omission in no way diminishes the emotion. What's more is that the choice of words were neutral, that is, not emotionally-laden: "sana," "ako," "pa," "rin," "na," "lang," "ulit" are common words used in any sentence. They mostly don't even mean anything apart from a context-- no action, no description. That bit is an indirect communication of meaning in order to curtail emotion. Yet if anything, it stabs even deeper, more so than if that word "mahal" were squeezed in there. To add to that, Bea Alonzo's delivery is EXQUISITE!!!

Now, consider this memorable confrontation between Bujoy and Ned in Labs Kita Okey Ka Lang? (1998) almost ten years earlier.

Image from tumblr
That's right, I was a HUGE Jolina-Marvin fan.
For more effects, watch this 

It's an entirely different story, but has a, more or less, parallel confrontation scene (Plus, the films both use the Nanghihinayang song by Jeremiah, albeit in different manners). The scene begins already intense with all the screaming which, to be honest, makes me feel uncomfortable. Bujoy here is all out angry, the dialogue is heavily dramatic and elaborate. The build up of emotion was mainly a shift from "loud anger" to "less loud pain" as Bujoy explains the limits of their friendship she wishes to traverse.

The One More Chance parallel, on the other hand, is quiet, and less intense, yet is in no way less heart-wrenching. The emotional build up is more mellow, makes use of silences, relies on less words, maximizing artful sentence constructions and implied meanings.

What really strikes me is how the simplicity of that line is enough to capture that much emotion. It practically just repeats words, yet the meaning is there, clear and complete: Sana ako pa rin, ako na lang. Ako na lang ulit. That's elegance. A hallmark of excellent writing.