Heneral Luna and the timeless Filipino problem

By Johanne R. Macob

“Mga kapatid, meron tayong mas malaking kaaway kay sa mga Amerikano, ang ating sarili.”

 Thus warned General Antonio Luna, whose character was outstandingly portrayed by actor John Arcilla, in a film that talked about history not only as a thing of the past but as a key player in our present time.

 Gen. Luna is an underrated Filipino hero whose character I knew nothing about before I watched the film. If I were to describe him based on what I understood, the General was a confident, honest, highly intelligent, and genuinely patriotic military man. He came from a rich family, with a supposed bright and uncomplicated life if he had only chosen a different path. But then, he had that strong desire to liberate the Philippines from the colonizers, from the Americans and the Spaniards, in his time. Sadly, he did not succeed, thanks to his fellows!

 I have seen several ‘historical’ movies but none of which had me so engaged as Heneral Luna. I even did some extra research on General Luna soon as I got home from the cinema. The overall aesthetics, the cinematography, the technical aspect are all superb. The performance of the actors is highly commendable, with an emphasis on the main actor’s, Arcilla, who demonstrated how well he knows his craft. On top of all these, though, what really put the film in the pedestal of Filipino films was its ability to present ‘reality,’ the Filipino reality. It did not portray Gen. Luna as a perfect man with nothing but exceptional capabilities and attitudes. It did not present our history as a fairytale, nor our people as the best race there is. It did not mask the reality, poking on Filipinos’ ideas of politics and authority, business and finance, humor and even chismis. The film reminded me of Bob Ong, the Filipino author known for his satirical style in writing about today’s various societal problems of the country. The movie has veered away from the usual boring, monotonous style of history movies by including realistic comic from the characters. Consequently, with all the non-ideal, or okay, closest to truthful, depictions, Heneral Luna has become an eye-opener a reinforcing of the most problematic conditions of our country, of our people, of ourselves.

 Gen. Luna, for his brutal honesty and stern leadership, was killed by his fellow Filipinos. I’ve also read from some unconfirmed accounts that, President Emilio Aguinaldo, who felt threatened, was the one who ordered Luna’s murder. Aguinaldo was the same person who regarded Luna as his best general. Despite his apparent logical plans and patriotism, it was personal grudges and interests that were underscored. This is our most problematic condition and the hero himself has warned us of it – our worst enemy as a nation is the lack of solidarity. It was, and is, still, the lack of a shared goal and priority. As depicted in the movie, one or few persons were not enough to free a nation. We need one another as much as we need our food, our shelter, our clothing.

Heneral Luna has repeatedly echoed the most important question every Filipino has to answer, “Bayan o Sarili?”

It is the movie I’ll always be proud of, especially as a Filipino. And yes, I join the rest of the netizens in asking all cinemas nationwide to continue to retain the film for as long as they can.  Good job, Director Jerrold Tarog!

Now, I actually wonder why General Luna was not featured in any of our coins or bills.

(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)

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