Monday, September 21, 2015

Endangered “Heneral Luna” Now Our Oscars’ 2016 Official Entry


               “Truth is, it may not be tomorrow Saturday or Sunday”, Vincent Nebrida, one of the film’s co-executive producers, posted more than week ago (September 11) on his Facebook account.

                Not to fret, as I’m writing this article, the film is still in theaters. The film features a stellar cast of talented thespians led by John Arcilla, who plays the title role. Emilio Aguinaldo is played by Mon Confiado and Paolo Avelino has a special participation as Gregorio del Pilar. The official Facebook account of the film announced about two hours ago that the film was chosen as our official entry to the Oscars in the Foreign Language Category.


                What is astounding about this film is that it managed to assemble a cast of thousands which can be verified by looking at the credits alone. This is not an exaggeration. This 70M film though is such a risky venture. Yes, it is an educational yet entertaining film with a refreshing take on a Filipino hero who is actually an antihero. But, how long will the movie going public support this? I guess we can only know the answer if this film still manages to survive after this week. If word of mouth does carry it beyond, then there may be hope for this country. The film as a whole does not only symbolize the disunification of the Filipinos, it also gnaws at us with the reality that being one of the best, but being unpopular,  will not result in victory.

                The war with the American pop culture is still ongoing even after we have one our independence as a country from them. We always use them as a standard for excellence. It is great to know that most of the review that came out did not compare this film to Hollywood material. It was praised for its own uniqueness in highlighting the good and the bad qualities of the Filipinos which hamper our success as a nation. The script was beautiful with its classical Tagalog lines. Heneral Luna was really flesh and meat, human to the core. The film brazenly showed him as a flawed human being with his temper and even his sensitive side in his secret relationship with a woman.

Of course, we cannot just have the “right thing” rammed down our throats. our personal decisions show our maturity as a nation. We don’t simply do things because it is the right thing to do. It has to come from within.

Even though the film is already our official entry to the Oscars’, it does not mean that it is out of danger. It can still be pulled out of the theaters anytime if the ticket sales drop. Show business is a business after all.


So, I question you who’s reading this, Heneral Luna or Hollywood films? Bayan o sarili?


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