SOCSCI_105 Republic of the Philippines

Life and Works of Rizal A Reaction Paper of the movie: Jose Rizal (ver.1998)

Vanessa Anne Z. Oliva September 26, 2014 BSEd 4-2 (English) TFri 2:30 – 4:00 PM

Movie Title: José Rizal Main Cast:

Cesar Montano José Rizal Joel Torre Crisostomo Ibarra/Simoun

Jaime Fabregas Luis Taviel de Andrade Gloria Diaz Teodora Alonzo Gardo Versoza Andres Bonifacio

Monique Wilson Maria Clara Chin Chin Gutierrez Josephine Bracken

Mickey Ferriols Leonor Rivera Pen Medina Young Paciano Peque Gallaga Archbishop Bernardo Nozaleda, OP

Bon Vibar Ramon Blanco Subas Herrero Alcocer

Tony Mabesa Camilo de Polavieja Alexis Santaren Olive Chiqui Xerxes-Burgos Father Villaclara, SJ

Movie Summary:

In the19th century Chile, Peru and Cuba rose against Spain and achieved their

independence. Philippine Spain faced a revolution due to mounting social unrest

among the natives. Thirty-five year old José Rizal was the greatest enemy of Spain in

the Philippines. With his exceptional linguistic ability (speaking twenty-two languages)

and interest in the sciences and the arts, Rizal was most effective in his campaign for

freedom as a writer. He wrote two novels: Noli Me Tangere and El

Filibusterismo. These were scathing indictments of Spanish tyranny and of the church

which came to acquire immense political power.

1891. Ghent, Belgium. José Rizal writes that he is writing a book about the Philippines

to reveal the truth. There are scenes of a priest having sex with a Philippine woman

and beating a Philippine child. He writes of "our sad country" and "our grievances and

frustrations". We meet one of his characters named Crisostomo Ibarra, who took

another name Simoun.

1895. The Philippines. The Katipunan "sons of the people" shout "Long live Dr. José

Rizal."

1896. MalacaZang Palace. Governor-General Blanco presents the Spanish plan to

advance on the province of Bulacan. He says: "We will crush the

rebellion." Monsignor Nozaleda arrives. He virtually demands the elimination of the

rabble-rouser José Rizal.

Guerrilla leader Bonifacio tells his Katipunan to tear up their cedulas.

The Spanish torture José Rizal's brother Paciano. They want to know what is the role of

his brother in the rebellion.

1896. Rizal Residence, Tondo, Manila. The family is packing to leave. Paciano arrives

home after his torture sessions.

November 1896. Fort Santiago, Manila. The order is given to bring in José Rizal. His

interrogator tells Rizal that he knows that Rizal knows Bonifacio, founder of the

Katipunan. They know he met Bonifacio at a secret assembly at Doroteo Ongjunco's

place. Rizal is accused of being a traitor like Padre Burgos. After all, Rizal had

dedicated his last book to him: "For the priests Francisco Gomez, Jose Burgos and

Jacinto Zamora."

Flashback. José Rizal says that his brother Paciano was the one to open his eyes to

the injustices in the Philippines. Paciano had known Father Burgos and had witnessed

his execution as well as those of the others.

1869. Calamba, Laguna. As a youngster, José Rizal is called Pepe. His mom is

falsely arrested for attempting to poison her sister-in-law. She is jailed for two

years. The Rizal family had disputes with the friars for years and the clergy got their

revenge by teaching the family a lesson. Pepe is sent to school. His brother tells him

not to use the family named of Mercado since the friars might hold it against him.

1872. Ateneo Municipal. Pepe is praised at school for his work.

Back to 1896. Luis Taviel de Andrade of the Spanish army arrives to be José Rizal's

defense council. He does not seem too pleased with his assignment.

Flashback. 1878. The University of Saint Thomas. The teacher has a Spanish student

and a Philippine student stand before the class next to each other. He notes the height

difference between the superior Spanish and the inferior Philippine. José Rizal rises to

say that if height is of so much importance then why are so many of Spain's colonies

gaining their independence from Spain. The teacher responds: "Impertinent!"

Back to 1896. Rizal's novels are banned in the Philippines. With a knife, the character

Crisostomo threatens to kill the local priest for turning on his father and persecuting

him. His father died in prison and then the priest had his body dug up and thrown into

the river. Crisostomo says that he has lost his wife, child and family.

Flashback. Rizal speaks with his fellow students about Philippine independence. The

Spanish students call them monkeys and a fight breaks out. Rizal is hit in the head with

a thrown rock. His Uncle Antonio bandages his wound. Cousin Leonor then sits with

him. It is obvious that Rizal likes his cousin.

Back to 1896. The defense counsel asks why he would leave his beloved Leonor to

travel to Europe. His brother send him to Spain to study medicine, but also to be free to

write about the Philippines.

1884. Central University of Madrid. A group of Philippine students meet together to

discuss the situation in their country. A man named Agueller is there. José Rizal

speaks for independence.

June 25, 1884. Hotel Ingles, Madrid. Two Philippine students Luna and Hidalgo, who

were born in the Philipppines, won the university painting contest and are being

honored.

The authorities search the mayor's house. He is arrested for having a Rizal book. The

friars have a book burning for copies of Rizal's books. The novel character Ibarra is

called a traitor because officials implicated him in a violent revolt. He was discredited in

the public's eye.

January 1891. Madrid. In the Philippine group of students, a call goes out for Del Pilar

for President. José Rizal is disgusted with the choice since they have almost opposite

positions on independence. He decides to return to the Philippines and walks out of the

meeting.

July 1892. Manila. Formation of the La Liga Filipina. The young Andres Bonifacio

enthusiastically responds to the speech given by José Rizal.

Rizal says that the friars planted banned pamphlets in his luggage; he was arrested;

and he was deported to the far-off island of Dapitan. One saving grace, however, was

that he met Josephine.

Monsignor Nozaleda is still cursing the name of José Rizal. He still demands that

Governor-General Blanco eliminate the rebel. The Governor-General pays a visit to the

cell of Rizal. Rizal scolds him: "You made me believe I could go to Cuba only to be

captured and imprisoned again."

August 1896. A Philippine revolt against the Spanish occurs. Rizal takes the position

that it is useless to revolt at this time because it is like suicide to face the overwhelming

military might of the Spanish in the Philippines.

Christmas. At a formal dinner, Monsignor Nozaleda tells his fellow diners that Blanco is

too friendly with Rizal. Later Blanco is absolutely shocked when he is introduced to the

new Governor-General of the Philippines, Polavieja.

Ghent, Belgium. Rizal receives a letter from the Philippines. He is told of what

happened in his home town of Calamba. Because the town dared to protest against the

friars' misuse of their land, the Spanish descended on the town and forced all the

residents to evacuate. Rizal is extremely mad and upset over the news. Later he

receives a letter from Leonor saying that her mother arranged a marriage for her to an

Englishman against her wishes. She does not even like the Englishman, much less

want to marry him.

Back to the present. The defense counsel tells Rizal that he thought the second novel

to be very sad. The character of Ibarra was o.k., but in the character Simoun there is no

light -- his soul has been corrupted. Simoun turns to violence against the Spanish

imperialists. He puts a bomb within a lantern with a flickering light that will be detonated

when a diner guest tries to adjust the flame. Simoun believes that reforms are useless

and that blood must be shed. (Violence is prevented when a young filippino throws the

lantern out of the window where it explodes outside. The defense counsel asks if Rizal

is becoming Simoun: "You are using your novel to avenge yourself." In the novel

Simoun is shot in the back while running to escape the soldiers trying to capture

him. The defense counsel is so adamant and opinionated that it appears as if he is

"tripping".

The defense counsel attends a big formal ball at Malacanyang Palace. Monsignor

Nozaleda scolds him for working so hard for the traitor Rizal. The defense counsel

defends himself and the principal that everyman should have an effective defense in

court, but another clergyman accuses him of being a traitor himself. Excusing himself,

the defense counsel leaves the ball.

December 26, 1896. The trial of Rizal begins. The point is made that since 1892 Rizal

has deliberately made it known to one and all that he will not longer discuss politics. He

was on the desolated island of Diapan for four years. The prosecution claims that the

rebel leader Bonifacio needed Rizal for an uprising. The defense counters with the fact

that when Dr. Valenzuela came to Diapan to get his support for the uprising, Rizal told

him that it would only be suicide and that he would not support any uprising at this time.

Flashback. Diapan. Josephine was a big help in Rizal's clinic on the island. Josephine

becomes pregnant with Rizal's child, but the baby boy dies shortly after birth and Rizal

buries his son all alone.

December 1896. Rizal is given the death sentence. His counsel tells him that it was a

mock trial. Rizal's mother begs the new Governor-General for mercy, but he only

says: "I'm sorry."

December 29, 1896. Bonifacio wants to try to save Rizal, but Rizal's brother Paciano

argues against it because it would be useless.

In his jail cell, Rizal has an inner debate with the character Simoun, who tells him that

he wants Rizal to rewrite the ending of the novel: "Let the lamp explode" among the

Spanish diners.

December 30, 1986. It is the day of execution. Rizal is able to sneak out a final poem

to his family. At the execution he has to turn his back to the firing squad. His lasts

words were the shout: "It is done!"

Bonifacio and his Katipunan ambush some Spanish soldiers killing most of them. They

also kill a Spanish priest. The rebellion went ahead!

June 12, 1898. General Emilio Aguinaldo raised the Philippine flag for the first time and

declared independence. A few years later, Dr. José Rizal was declared the National

Hero of the Republic of the Philippines.

Reaction:

I think that Cesar Montano’s interpretation of our hero Rizal is better than todays’

Rizal thespians. I guess, his acting became the springboard of all Rizal-to-be actors.

Overall, the movie’s great – with a bit of flaws but still great. My reaction would be

based on these three ideas: Cesar’s performance, the movie’s flaws, and lastly, its good

sides.

Firstly, Cesar Montano is a man worthy of praises for his excellent performance

in his portrayal of Dr. Rizal. His actions embodied and convinced the audience that he is

Rizal; he is not the contemporary Montano but instead, he is the personification of our

national hero. Rizal’s hesitations, his daydreams, his anger, and happiness – these

were all seen within Cesar’s eyes. You’d almost say he was born as the reincarnation of

Rizal because his acting was almost natural. The way he walked, talked, and acted out

his feelings were neither too dramatic nor too somber – it was the right mixture of both

and it turned out splendidly.

Now, how am I sure that that is how the real Rizal works? That that is how the

actual Rizal acts, speaks, and behaves? Well, I’m not. Like most people who lived out of

Rizal’s time frame, I am only assuming things according to how I see Rizal through

various exposures to his works, biographies, subjects, topics, ideas, trivia, and generally

on what had been taught in school.

Every individual, being unique in nature, has his or her own unique mind that

works in different ways. That is why, I view Rizal as to how Cesar played it and

whatever view you may have, that does not generally apply to me. This is my reaction to

Cesar’s acting and if some people do not agree with that, I’m fine with that. But don’t

have misconceptions that I like Cesar Montano as an artist and that I’m an avid fan of

him, which I’m not. I am simply stating my opinions on his performance without any

biases of the sort.

The second part of my reaction is about the movie’s flaws. If you are not very

familiar with Philippine history; the Spanish Colonial Era; Jose Rizal and the other

propagandists; and or you are simply not good with time frames, then this movie will

confuse you. Why? For the reason that, the movie’s structure is of the conversational

type – every instances that a certain conversation triggers something, the influx in time

is imminent – from the present, the screen plays a narration of either the past; an

episode from Dr. Rizal’s works; or the past in yet, another past. It flows like a dream

within a dream. It shows Dr. Rizal’s life in bits – like a puzzle that works out its way to

assemble its lost pieces. Eventhough this certain type of movie structure has its own

charm and beauty, certain audiences might get confuse. Thus, it becomes highly

recommendable for viewers to have even a bit of background to fully capture the intent

of the film.

Furthermore, I do not know if this is included but, my copy is like the film’s

structure – shown in bits and pieces plus a certain file does not have an audio when you

reach its middle part. But then, maybe it was just that this film is old enough to be

considered as vintage for those who live in the 21st century like me so its quality is not of

the highest quality.

Lastly, of course I will not focus myself and waste my time until the end of my

paper, criticizing this movie and pointing out its flaws. I will also give out its good points.

One of it I think is the way the movie was presented. I know that I had just

criticized it on my previous reaction but it could also be its natural charm. The novelty of

the presentation – of its structure – is what made it most interesting. Instead of the plain

and clichéd story telling type, it invoked the audience’s mind to stitch up the memories

presented – giving them the opportunity to see inside Rizal’s mind. It is a stimulating

activity wherein the audience sees the events just as how Rizal remembers it – not on a

storyteller’s point of view rather, on the POV of Rizal and how his fate unfolded before

him towards his self-induced death.

This movie may be an older version and of the medium quality but it still gives its

audience a great view on the events during Rizal’s time. It still gives off that nationalistic

spirit and feeling at the end when the guns were triggered and the awful thud of Rizal’s

lifeless body finally fell back on the earth of his homeland. “It is done.”

Reflection:

While watching the movie, I felt good and I felt bad. Good for the times when

Rizal was enjoying the joys of the world, the glory of living, and the thrill of experiences.

And then I felt bad for the worst times: the brutality; the inhumane acts towards our

ancestors; and the permanent scar it left on our people – ignorant love for the foreign

world and its glittering gifts.

These gifts are chains in disguise but we embrace them, regardless of our

history; regardless of their previous brutalities: we are slaves to our own desires. We

are blinded with the idea of foreign superiority and wanted to be one. It’s like the

temptation of Eve all over again and we have been the ignorants who ate the forbidden

fruit.

It was then that I realized of what we’ve been doing ever since. We’ve been

exploiting our natural wealth for the benefit of other people. Yes, that is good – helping

other people and such but it depends on the purpose of those “other people”. They have

been poisoning our mind and we are ignorant enough to believe that what we’ve all

been doing is good for us. Latently, it is good for them.

I’m not all out anti-foreign-ideology or something but, my point is, I’ve realized

that all our heroes’ hardwork have been worthless overtime. It now serves only as a

picture of what had been. Over the years, even without the colonizers’ help, we’ve lost

and thrown away our identities – replacing it with an alien self.

Now, what do I have to do to stop Filipinos from repeating mistakes and

succumbing to the dreadful temptation to be something else? What things am I going to

do and to what lengths? Well, for at the moment, I’ll finish my studies first. When the

time comes where I’d be able to stand for myself and see the world for what it truly is,

then I guess, “The time is ripe. I will do what I must do.”