I’ve been hearing a lot of people complaining about how bad the Philippine cinema is nowadays. The old films were great though – specifically those few coming from the 50s, 60s and the 70s. But most of us for sure are wondering: what happened to the films being produced nowadays?
Unfortunately, majority of the Filipino movies today have similar plotlines. To be honest, I rarely see one that truly sticks out. Yes, there may be some golden nuggets lately, but in general, our contemporary films are still somewhat immature. Some even say that the Philippine film industry has already formed this habit of recycling storylines, making it simply a rehash of a handful of plotlines that we’ve seen billion times before. Others would more likely think that present-day Filipino movies do not actually have plots, but are seemingly just a series of quotable quotes cobbled together in a film. While there’s really nothing wrong with having these in a film, Filipino producers and filmmakers shoauld realize that movies can’t just be made up of mostly over-the-top (and yes, cheesy) dramatic lines. It simply just gets dull and tiring to see movies like this entering the big screens one after the other.
Unlike all the twists and genre shifts we have witnessed in Korea’s My Sassy Girl and The Classic, Japan’s Departure, and India’s 3 Idiots, we fail to exhibit one important element of screen art, that is, the art of unpredictability. The filmmakers from the neighbor countries just mentioned are all so adventurous that they do not hesitate to break away from all those generic movie plots. Sadly, the writing style (and perhaps the directing too) that we have here already becomes an alarming issue, and thus needs both immediate reflection and action. With the sight of a declining Philippine cinema, now is just the right time to keep the ball rolling, get our creative juices working, and start thinking outside the box.
Characters in Filipino movies are also rarely based on real people. There’s always the cheating husband, the martyr female figure, the vile mistress, the macho playboy, the rebellious teen. In Japan’s Shall We Dance, we have seen a very good character development throughout the film, showing us how dynamic a character in reality can be. Who would imagine having a typical family provider transforming into a professional dancer as the highlight of the film? In most of our films today, the villain remains the villain; the hero remains the hero. Sad to say, there’s no clear character dynamism and flexibility in majority of our films. If there is, only minimal; sometimes, insignificant. As a result, the films we create today lack the power and the impact that we usually can find in most films of our Asian counterparts.
Perhaps this is the case because modern-day films released here in the Philippines are often produced with the purpose of simply making a particular actor rise in the show business, and not because we really have the desire to produce an art. Apparently, what’s adopted today is a backward strategy: the actor comes in mind first; the story just follows. In other words, the plot is simply tailored to how it’s going to suit a particular actor on hand. No doubt we can see a declining quality of our cinema – no depth, no real purpose, no significance. There are attempts to make Filipino films seem a bit more profound, but most of them are still the same generic, overly dramatic story that is driven by “star power” rather than legit quality character and story development.
I only realized that as I’ve witnessed Iran’s Children of Heaven and The Color of Paradise. These two really made a mark, as they both were able to convey something truly relevant to the society at-large. These 2 films came out powerfully because they were able to make people think about life; they were able to stir emotions; they were able to provoke people into doing something with their lives. The same goes for India’s 3 Idiots and Black – even though they are executed differently, they still managed to become a wellspring of inspiration, impelling one to think and ponder more about life.
Watching the films made by our Asian neighbors truly made me realize that films aren’t just simply films; they are supposed to be artifacts that reflect our culture and, in turn, affect our outlook towards life. Our Asian counterparts already understood this, that’s why they use their films not just for entertainment but also as a powerful tool for educating the society. Thailand’s very own A Beautiful Boxer, India’s Water and Iran’s A Separation are perfect examples. They depict different stories that are meant to enlighten and teach the audience about the realities of life. These films do not mind if they include and present an un-ideal part of human life for they know only through this will the audience learn and extract values helpful to living the social life. But nowhere can we find our culture or any significant message of consequence in our films here in the country. Films, as we’ve proven, are robust tools for communicating ideas and who we are as a people. Unfortunately, our films today seemingly tell us and everyone else that we are shallow and superficial.
Now we ask the why – why can’t we seem to find the right formula, the right recipe, to good and quality films? Obviously, one may think that the industry is just being held back by producers wanting to make a quick buck. No matter what people say about film being an art, still it doesn’t change the fact that it is also a business. Although you have a promising script, if the producers don’t think it’s going to sell, they aren’t going to make your movie. Sadly that’s how our industry works today. So of course, with the film industry still being profit oriented, those hit formulas are still the kinds of films that will be produced. These formula films, which people seem to hate, are apparently the ones that make money. No doubt why the revolution of our movies seem to be slow that even until today, our film making style is considered immature.
However, it still is not right to blame these producers alone for majority of us also contribute to that sad reality. Why do you think those commercial movies, despite its superficiality, are all becoming a hit? That is because of the immaturity (or perhaps over-simplicity) of most Filipino audience as well. We just never learn, we just choose to be shallow by preferring these types of film over those few which make much more sense. Just because they have a powerhouse cast does not mean we have to close our eyes and reject those with only a few known stars. With this commercial mentality, don’t expect producers to make higher quality movies ‘cause what the market wants, the market gets. Yes, the Philippine film industry may survive this by just obtaining profit. But at the end of the day, we still do not get the improvement we really need.
That’s why I think it is important for our film industry to shift from being profit-driven to being value-driven. We see this in both Chinese films Together and Eat, Drink, Man, Woman. Both of these films capture values that the Chinese community sees as something that should be widely promoted in the society. The Philippine industry is capable of producing that too – we have films like Magnifico and Tanging Yaman which can prove that. However, we aren’t so much focusing on that capability. And now is the time to revive that kind of gem in the industry. We can tap and give priority to our indie films which offer better stories, showing real and legitimate stories of Filipino life. It has achieved a lot of recognition in different award-giving bodies locally and internationally; we’ve seen the movie Jay as one of them. However, they are not very much appreciated by majority of the Filipinos simply because they are not part of the mainstream. If only these kinds of film receive better support from the people, then we’ll arrive at the right formula. As for me, I think the best way for now to save the industry from this downward spiral is through prioritizing local independent films, for if more cinemas offer more of them, the people will learn not about just the great films the local industry has to offer them, but also about their selves and the society in which they belong to.
We don’t necessarily have to create a divide between our mainstream and independent films. Hopefully we can blur the line in the process, but right now the way to go to improve our very own film industry is though seeking inspiration from our budding indie films, and yes, through learning from the success and failures of our Asian neighborhood.
True enough, foreign films are good to watch but when a good change happens, watching our own masterpieces will be the best experience for the Filipinos.
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Synthesis Paper on Philippine Cinema, Film Class under Fr. Nick in Ateneo de Manila University
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