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In an interview with Pocholo Concepcion of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Heneral Luna director Jerrold Tarog narrated how difficult it was to sell this movie project to mainstream producers. “Ang hirap i-explain yung vision na hindi ito boring.”
So tough luck to whoever shot down his idea, because Tarog was so not lying when he said this wasn’t going to be a boring movie. Heneral Luna is far from boring.
It’s easy to say that it’s because Antonio Luna — brother of painter Juan and regarded as the most brilliant of the Filipino military officers during the Philippine-American War — makes for a truly interesting and entertaining subject.
But that’s not being fair to Tarog, the acting cast led by John Arcilla, the writers who penned absolutely enjoyable dialogues, or the inspired cinematographers and set designers.
Tarog and E.A. Rocha, cowriter and film producer, with the help of Nick Joaquin’s A Question of Heroes and Vivencio Jose’s The Rise and Fall of Antonio Luna, reimagined and then masterfully told the story of the Best General in President Emilio Aguinaldo’s army.
“Luna’s life fascinated me,” the young director continued in the PDI interview. “He didn’t care whether his actions would cause the ire of people around him. What mattered to him was his principles.”
Tarog wanted to write a script but then discovered there’s already one written in 1998 by Rocha that never saw the light of day. The two met, and soon, Rocha became a cowriter and producer of the film that was to be Heneral Luna.
Strangely, it did not feel like two scripts coming together. Set during the time when Spain sold the Philipines to the United States of America, Heneral Luna is a seamless storytelling about Antonio Luna, the short-tempered idealist who led his army to countless victories, and who made several enemies all in the name of freedom.
It showed the crazy ways Luna upheld discipline, his grand plan of how to win against the Americans. His compassionate side to individuals whom he felt deserved it, and his family life and how he was brought up to become the man he eventually became.
It told an intriguing story about the revolutionary government and the certain ills in government that strangely still feels true today: the infighting among cabinet members, the resistance our protagonist got from his fellow commanders, regional thinking and so on and so forth.
The film made it clear that it is fiction based on facts — and what an entertaining piece of fiction this is! The story is captivating — as the language, the camera movement, and the music that was used in telling it.
Though we truly enjoyed the surprise prosthetics used throughout the movie, we must point out that the make-up left something to be desired. Several times, we got lost in the scene because we were fixating on the lipstick of the actors. Also, we would’ve been totally owned by that scene where Luna was playing the guitar in the moonlight except — is he wearing clear nail polish? Consider that us nitpicking.
The recollection of his youth was pretty well-executed, too, starting with how his mother entered the frame. We liked too, that viewers were given a slice of his sex personal life, and how that bit was told. Again, very relevant, very now, and very true.
But more than anything, it was the questions and the mullings that Heneral Luna put forward that hit home.
Tarog said the film is an attempt to identify the ills of out society. “It’s a certain disease that’s’ been plaguing us, even before the Spaniards. We have a cycle of betrayal…we want to emphasize that our biggest problem is ourselves.”
With the elections coming up, and having just lived through Tuesday’s nightmare, watching the movie will make anyone more reflective of the kind of leaders we have, the kind of leaders we’ve had, and the kind of leaders we’d like to have.
Because Heneral Luna portrayed several kinds. There are the familiar self-serving types who only have their personal interests in mind. The sell-outs who lack balls. Regional thinkers on whom his kababayans have a pull. And then there’s the crazy mofo, who, fueled with love for country, can get things done, albeit harshly.
Yup, for something we thought was fun and entertaining, you somehow bring with you out the theater, deep thinking and introspection about issues far bigger than yourself. We highly encourage you to watch the movie.
