#blogpost schoolpurp HeneralLuna GOYO

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Film Critique Entry - Gonzaga, Joshua D.

This blog is for the review of the movies: Heneral Luna and Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral. In which, both are masterpieces by Mr. Jerrold Tarog—he is the director of both films and many other films for the Filipinos, which then the masses loved.  

The cast of both movies–John Arcilla as Antonio “Heneral Luna” Luna, Paulo Avelino as Gregorio “Goyong/Ang Agila” H. Del Pilar, Mon Confiado as Emilio “Miong” Aguinaldo, Arron Villaflor as Joven Hernando (fictional character for both movies), and Jeffrey Quizon as Apolinario “Ang Utak ng Rebolusyon” Mabini; these characters played significant roles in both films and sparked the revolution for the Filipinos way back after the Three hundred and thirty-three (333) years of Spanish Colonization. 

The movie has struck my mind wherein my high hopes were met, especially on Heneral Luna. Its veteran cast and story caught my attention, for I am not a bookworm who spends hours of learning through books. I prefer gaining knowledge through watching clips and listening podcasts, mainly Philippine history. These platforms can give the viewers or listeners a full depiction of what happened in the past rather than text in a book. 

Both films are in-line with each other as Heneral Luna's movie took a break first and followed by Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral. The plot of the motion picture for Heneral Luna—the Spanish colonization ended after three hundred and thirty-three (333) grueling years of cruelty, death without exile, rape among women, and no regard for respect for our own country. The Spanish parliament took place in the government. After colonization, Spaniards did not want to surrender to the Filipinos, but instead, they had sold the Philippines to the Americans for twenty million dollars ($20,000,000).

The Filipinos and its parting government unknowingly have issues about their president of that time, who was Emilio Aguinaldo. He became biased on whom to protect and a cowardly reckless leader. The movie showed that the officials were having arguments in meetings and were undecided if they should let the Americans enter. Besides, perceiving if they should let them take place in our government. Felipe Buencamino and Pedro Paterno were some of the Filipino Ilustrados. (in the Spanish era, they were the enlightened or the educated ones; included in the Ilustrados is the Hero of the Philippines, Dr. Jose Rizal) argued that the Americans are here to protectorate the Philippines, and us.

Buencamino and Paterno told the cabinet that Filipinos should look at Americans as allies. However, this argument made Luna and his co-leader Jose Alejandrino, the military leaders for the said meeting, had an outrage. They argued back that it was for the betterment of the country to continue its independence and the revolution. Also, not to waste what our predecessors fought for–to gain independence.  At the end of the meeting, one of the guards told the President and Apolinario Mabini that the Americans had already stepped foot. General Luna asked the cabinet to authorize the strike upon the Americans, as early as they can, before letting them have the advantage of more troops than ours. 

Mabini warned the cabinet that there were other 7,000 ground troops for the Americans that were on their way in the Philippines. Both generals wanted to strike immediately, wished the soldiers to be ready and to sacrifice for the combat. President Aguinaldo sent Buencamino and Arguelles to handle the debate. He assured the cabinet that Americans would keep peace and order to fight and win against the Spaniards. 

On the 13th of August, in the year 1898, the Spanish and American generals discreetly planned a land engagement to turn over control of Intramuros. The incident dragged a new war for General Luna and the Philippines. Buencamino and Paterno showed support for the protection of the United States to the Philippines, which meant that the Philippines would be under the sovereign of the United States of America. Being enraged by their actions, Antonio Luna had a requisition of the traitors (Buencamino and Paterno) of the constitution they swore to support it. 

Next, Luna inquired for his resignation as the general, knowing that the traitors were free. Aguinaldo declined the file of the departure of Antonio Luna as he saw him as the only one who was capable of winning the fight. Aguinaldo had approved the General’s appeal on moving the Philippine military headquarters up north. 

Later, Luna received a letter from the president, stating that the president paged him in his headquarters in Cabanatuan. Although suspicious, he went to Cabanatuan with pride and honor on his shoulders, having Roman and Rusca upon him. Arriving at Cabanatuan, most of the streets were empty, and the soldiers already left in the morning. Few soldiers remained, mostly from the battalion of Kawit. As Luna went up to the office of the President, he saw only senator Buencamino relaxingly sitting on the President’s chair. While anticipating the general’s arrival, they exchanged heated words with one another. Then, a single shot’s sound reached the office. Upon Antonio Luna’s investigation, he encountered Captain Janolino, who he jailed him up, weeks after the start of the commotion between the American soldiers and Philippine battalion. Wherein, Captain Janolino did not follow the General’s orders. These men from the Kawit battalion shot, stabbed and hacked General Antonio Luna to death. On the other hand, Roman died as well, while Rusca had surrendered to the Kawit soldiers. 

At the end of the Heneral Luna movie, it said that the Philippines blamed Aguinaldo for Antonio Luna’s death. However, Aguinaldo denied and gave the general an excellent reputation for him and calls him the most brilliant and capable general. On the other hand, at the same table that the president sat were MacArthur and Otis, who were giving Luna an acknowledgment as a worthy antagonist. They laughed at the Filipinos that they killed the only real general they had.

After that, the President’s favorite–General Gregorio del Pilar or better known as Goyong/Goyo is the next in line to the late, General Antonio Luna, to the sequel movie entitled as Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral.

The movie started in a phase, where the new General had so many rumors about his love life. Through all provinces that he and his men and went to, there would be women that found his handsomeness intriguing. Additionally, there would be a lady that would get in a relationship within every province. If not, he would court to make the lady fall in love, but does not have the intention to have a relationship.

After, General Antonio Luna’s death the next five months had been quiet for the Filipino soldiers—they became relaxed, having a thought of the American’s had stopped the war—afterward, Goyong and his men had captured Manuel Bernal and his little brother, who was included in General Luna’s men, and  they are brutally asking him that he should join the force and help on the revolution against the American’s. 

Meanwhile, Joven Hernando—now works for his uncle who is Goyong’s assigned photographer; on the other hand, whilst the Filipino army are laid-back, because of the silence of the combat between two forces—the allied forces from the American’s are formulating the second attack Luna’s comrade, Jose Alejandrino, who is saved from the extermination, now meets Apolinario Mabini—who had resigned from President Aguinaldo’s administration afterward the death of Antonio Luna. Pule, then plead Jose Alejandrino to identify the true source of Luna’s annihilation. In addition, Emilio Aguinaldo adjoined General del Pilar at Bulacan—to promote him as the Major-General of Pangasinan, at this time Goyong is beginning to address his love for Remedios—who is the daughter of Don Mariano that has the reputation of being elusive among all to the man who tried to court her. In the next scene, the President met Apolinario to offer him to be the Chief of Justice, in which Pule hesitantly accepts. 

General Alejandrino then arrives at Manila to have a negotiation with General Arthur MacArthur Jr. and General Elwell Otis, who had rejected the Filipino General’s request to have peace and order; later then, the animosity continues, and still the Filipinos are off-guard. Aguinaldo then mandated the army to move to Pozorrubio, Pangasinan to have a bigger and stronger army against the surging American soldiers to claim the Philippines at the same time meet General Manuel Tinio for his soldiers to join fellow men on war. Yet, with the President’s request, Tinio and his company had been defeated by the Americans and caused Emilio Aguinaldo to push further north with his family and the army to retreat. The backbreaking march that escorts the President and his family through the mountainous region of Cordillera, the growing tensions between the Kawit soldiers and the late General Luna’s army, the day-to-day intrusion by the American soldiers had made the Army’s defenses fail, to which the mother and the son of Aguinaldo had been captured.

When the squad had reached Mount Tirad in Ilocos Sur, the Major-General had devised a plan to delay the Americans on capturing the President. Collectively with the former sharpshooter of Antonio Luna—Lieutenant Garcia, had reinforced the trenches that were dug along the direction of the mountain. The succeeding day, the American infantry had reached the town at the foot of the mountain, however they cannot infiltrate through the defenses placed by the Philippine soldiers; but through their native guide, the soldiers from America that are under Major Peyton March, had found a path that leads to the top of the mountain, without letting the Filipino soldiers know that they are coming; with this path the Filipinos are then overruled by the American soldiers. The Filipino Major-General then went to the far side of the mountain where he could see the beauty of the mountains, where he resolved to finish the fight against the Americans and surrender, nevertheless he was shot by an American sniper and died. To this result, the spirit of the Philippine allies had broken down and surrendered, while the President fled. Joven and Kiko—Lieutenant Garcia’s son, fled as well, but Joven fell to a cliff in an encounter with an American soldier.

The Americans then had captured the President on 23rd of March, 1901, which basically ended the war. Apolinario Mabini was then captured and was exiled to Guam, where he had written a narrative of his, named “La Revolucion Filipina”—through his writings, he appointed the former President, Emilio Aguinaldo’s failure as an effective leader of the Philippines. Then Remedios received a letter from Goyo. 

First and foremost, I liked the star-studded cast of both movies—in which, it is shown that the directors and the writers had thought and planned both movies very well; the plot and the setting of the movies are organized as well, the movie techniques are on point, and it is as if that the viewers are into the place and the chosen kinds of music for both movies are nicely thought of—especially on Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral’s movie, where the “Millenials” are aware of the music from Ben and Ben Band, lastly the I loved how they depicted the movie inlined with the Philippine history to let the generation today learn on how Filipinos had fought against the Americans and the antiquity for how we are today. 

I did not like that there are parts that are incomplete if it is compared to the written stories from the past, as well as, there are screen times on how they depicted wrongly about the past. 

“May mas malaki tayong kalaban sa mga Amerikano—ang ating mga sarili”, by General Antonio Luna, these words had struck me for they had not seen the truth that the Filipinos are in deep problem with their administration to which had the Filipinos sacrificed their own lives, only knowing that they have a cruel and mindless government; “Walang naka-aangat sa batas—kahit pa ang Presidente”, the words from General Luna proves that the President has an ineffective way on ruling and running the Philippine government; from Joven Hernando—”Ano ba ang halaga ng isang bayani? Bakit tayo pirming naka tingala at sumasamba anng walang pag dududa?”, he implied that the Filipinos in a way are a bunch of children that give full credits to the heroes of war and not thinking if they had done something wrong for us; “Pag bumagsak si Aguinaldo, may bagong titindig. Pero ito—hindi ito mapapalitan.”, even though we are fighting against our own race, we should not leave the lands we own of, we should take care of themand keep them untouched; “Bumigo ang rebolusyon dahil mali ang pamumuno nito”, it shows how the cabinet of the President is unwell and there are a ton of misconceptions on how they are ruling the Philippine government and that is basically why we lost the revolution to the Americans. 

In conclusion, no matter what and how the past is depicting us as Filipinos, we should not fully embrace it and live a new life, nevertheless, it should not give us the idea of forgetting the past and how our ancestors have fought for our freedom and lands. 

Sources

Netflix https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/574983077404647285/?lp=true https://www.spot.ph/entertainment/movies-music-tv/63720/10-quotable-quotes-heneral-luna https://medium.com/@letzky/takeaways-on-goyo-ang-batang-heneral-6d12014d2341 https://www.wheninmanila.com/goyo-ang-batang-heneral-which-scenes-are-fact-or-fiction/ https://filipiknow.net/facts-about-heneral-luna-movie/

#blogpost schoolpurp HeneralLuna GOYO