One day, Filipino romances will wean themselves away from the tropes that keep their stories circling back to the same conclusions, undermining the bold narrative ideas on which that they establish themselves. Nothing Like Paris still doesn't break free, but its commitment to a more serious, modern view of romance set against the loneliness of migration is surprising given director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo's previous collaboration with her lead actors (the inadvertently creepy I See You, set in Japan). Here, the possibility of romance built on little more than one's shared nationality and language is explored with real maturity, through two performers who prove that subtlety will always leave more room for complex emotion than ugly crying and cutesy, empty gestures.

Alessandra de Rossi is as talented as ever, keeping her initial flirtations innocent and sweet in a way that never feels like emotional manipulation. But it's Empoy Marquez—usually playing a total jester—who truly impresses. This is an entirely dramatic role for him, but it's one that doesn't force him to reenact the kinds of loud moments reserved for awards show highlight reels. He remains entirely guarded about his feelings, for reasons not even he can understand at first, and his gradual realizations are as tragic as they need to be without reducing him into an object of pity.