A review by ps_stillreading
Nothing Deep by Richard Bolisay

funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

 Not a review. More like fangirling disguised as a word-vomit-y, parenthetical-heavy reflection of my reading experience. Please manage your expectations. You have been warned✌🏽😘 

I am someone who enjoys watching films. And I am also interested in what goes on behind the scenes: how movies are made, who makes them happen, what The Industry is actually like, and all that jazz. 

However, I am very much an outsider. I mean I only recently began to think about the films and shows that I watch. And I realized that I don’t know much about Philippine cinema at all. And this is why I loved Nothing Deep. Richard Bolisay’s essays allowed me a peek behind the curtain and for the 10 days I spent with this book, I felt like I was granted intimate access to something I have only ever admired from afar. 

The book begins with essays on Joel Torre and Marilou Diaz-Abaya that made me appreciate them even more. Reading about Joel Torre’s connection to Jose Rizal took me back to high school when our Filipino teacher made us watch the Noli Me Tangere series he starred in, playing Crisostomo Ibarra alongside Chin Chin Gutierrez as Maria Clara. Torre would later appear in Diaz-Abaya’s film Jose Rizal as Ibarra/Simoun. And yes, the same teacher also made us watch this film. Back then, we thought that our teacher was a fan of Cesar Montano (who plays Jose Rizal as well as the main character in the film Muro-Ami, which she also made us watch). But after reading these essays it dawned on me that maybe she was actually a fan of Marilou Diaz-Abaya who directed both films. These two opening essays really had me typing “where to buy DVDs Philippines reddit” primarily because I wanted to watch Jose Rizal again, but by the end of the book, I wanted to watch the films Bolisay mentions that aren’t available on streaming. When I fall into rabbit holes like this, I take it as a good sign about what I’m currently reading. 

The third essay, The Evolution of Meng Patalo made me tear up. I feel like the journey of the film mirrored that of its characters, and Bolisay wrote about it in such a beautiful way that it made me very emotional. And I didn’t even watch the movie (please where can I watch it???) 

When johnreads shared his review of Nothing Deep, I went and bought myself a copy. I even got it signed during MIBF (photo proof included). It stayed on my shelf for A WHILE before I read it, and gurl do I regret waiting this long because three essays in, and I knew that I would be in for a treat. Then shelfandsensibility posted her review, which made me even more excited to read the rest of the collection. 

Philippine Cinema on the Map, the last essay in Nothing Deep, unexpectedly made me feel a lot of frustration. It was an eye-opening essay, but it really reminded me of some complaints and pet peeves I had regarding some mainstream movies. The Philippines is such a diverse country, with hundreds of languages and dialects, and of course, hundreds of stories. So when Bolisay wrote “Manila-centric ideologies and narratives have long upheld control and privilege” I FELT that. I may have lived in Manila for years, but I am still and forever will be a Cebu girlie at heart. And yes, I have also used the term “imperial Manila” in conversations with my friends. Stories and films that center cities and languages outside Manila deserve their time in the sun. Another quote from this essay: “There is a huge difference between a Manila filmmaker going to Cebu or Davao and setting a story in these cities and a Cebuano or a Davaoeño filmmaker doing the same.” 

Yung totoo, I just want to share how annoyed I get when movies are set in Cebu (or in any other place with a regional language), with characters that are supposed to be locals of that area, but all of the actors are from Manila. Obvioulsy, majority of the film will be spoken in Filipino and they will typically only have five lines of dialogue in the local language, but they will never get the pronunciation or the accent right. It never sounds or feels real, so it makes me cringe and takes me out of the film for a hot minute. Then I will sigh and go “ugh, imperial Manila” CHAROT (half not charot???) 

I really enjoyed the mix of “serious” and “unserious” topics because really, one is not more important than the other. They can both be interesting to explore and worthwhile to think and talk about. Yes, essays on AlDub and JaDine can sit comfortably next to essays on Lav Diaz, Kidlat Tahimik, and Ricky Lee. Richard Bolisay did 👏🏽 that 👏🏽 

My favorites from this collection: A Man For All Seasons, Impressions, The Evolution of Meng Patalo, Outside the Split Screen, When Two Worlds Meet, Why Ricky Lee?, and Philippine Cinema on the Map. That’s 7 favorites out of 14 essays. Pero syempre, because this is a five-star read for me, I loved all of them talaga. 

To sir Richard Bolisay, thank you for work that allows us to “see the imprints of our cinema in a different light” (quote taken from the introduction). Your book has brought me so much joy and has given me a lot to think about. I finished this book and felt a deeper appreciation for Filipino cinema and the people who keep on making the magic happen. 

If you are looking for a Filipino non-fiction book, or if you are interested in Philippine cinema, then I highly recommend you read Nothing Deep by Richard Bolisay. And subscribe to his substack!