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Of course, Heneral Luna will not be complete without having to show Antonio Luna’s brother, Juan Luna, who is a famous artist and hero as well. The exchange of gunshots and canon fire, cowardly soldiers running away, dismembered carcasses littering the field and exploding heads for all its blood and glory – these were not lacking. It won’t be a wartime story without showing war itself, and it did. The movie showed mostly the time when the Filipinos were fighting the Americans during and right after Spain sold the Philippines to United States. It did not dwell on the mundane acts of childhood and growing up years (albeit this were shown for a bit), for that which I am thankful.
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Heneral Luna started with the main character already at the peak of his life – the most brilliant general of a nation fighting to be reborn as a free country. The trend with Filipino life story films is to start when the character was young, then grew up, encountered a life-changing moment, faced the peak of his life, and then died. Unlike other historical films depicted in a straight line, the story of Heneral Luna was presented differently. The beautiful cinematography of Heneral Luna is far better than many commercial films in the Philippines today. I mean, does one really need to say these things just to promote it to his fellow Filipinos? Do we belong among those who, like Heneral Luna said, open their legs wide for Americans to enter? Para kang birhen na naniniwala sa pag-ibig ng isang puta! Ouch. These movies are Hollywood commercial film material! It pains me to have to compare this film to those shown in Hollywood. If I really must compare, Heneral Luna somehow reminds me of Rurouni Kenshin Live Action movie. Heneral Luna did not disappoint in this aspect.

Cinematography sets the overall mood and assists visually in effecting storytelling. The color, the blend, the framing, the texture, the camera movement and the angles are just some of the things that make for great cinematography. With hundreds, if not thousands, of films being released each year, we all look for a certain picture quality. One of the things I look for in a film (apart from the story and storytelling) is its look. He actually reminded me of my own grandfather. For him, there is no grey area between love for country and self-preservation, there is only black and white.

He was quick to anger, but was always resolute and sometimes even funny. There was a purpose behind his strict disciplinarian measures. I thank the writer-director Jerrold Tarog for introducing me to General Antonio Luna, a three dimensional character who has hopes, dreams, aspirations, frustrations. He breathed life to a Filipino hero who was usually reduced to just a temperamental general with anger management issues and a stylish mustache. I no longer saw John Arcilla – I saw a general fit to run amok during war time and punish soldiers with no sense of discipline. When they assumed their characters, they inhaled the air of the era more than a century ago and played the role as if it was their skin. No “pabebe” acting here, if I must say so. Much, much more.Ĭast and Characters: More than Just TemperĪnd yes, thank goodness for that! John Arcilla, Noni Buencamino, Leo Martinez, Joem Bascon, Mon Confiado, Archie Alemania, Epy Quizon and Ronnie Lazaro are but a few of the cast who have shown us what it is like to create a movie where actors have honed their acting craft to the fullest. But the movie Heneral Luna is more than that. One can assume that the movie is all about glorifying a Philippine hero, like what has been done in previous period movies like Jose Rizal, Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo, El Presidente, and a lot more. There is a reason why netizens clamoured to bring the film back to theaters nationwide (in 2015). If you haven’t seen Heneral Luna, then you are definitely missing out on a lot. Heneral Luna is currently available for streaming at Netflix. (What exactly is Artikulo Uno? Watch the movie and find out!)įor those studying or using the movie as a teaching material, here is a downloadable Heneral Luna study guide created by Alvin D. The movie was produced by Artikulo Uno Productions. Kudos to director Jerrold Tarog, who co-wrote the movie with Henry Francia and E.A.

Cruz is also the great-grandnephew of our national hero, Jose Rizal. Cruz, son of Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil, himself! Mr. We were lucky to receive the last copy from Mr. A copy of this book is hard to find nowadays.
