Heneral Luna (Spoiler Alert)

Just finished watching Heneral Luna and by far this is the most well written and screen-played Filipino Movie, finally not a crappy generic love affair movies! I'm sorry to offend some people, but c'mon! almost every movie produced or shown in the cinemas lately are generic love stories that only differ on their song title choices. Yes, most Filipino movies are titled after it's every soundtrack of choice and I do have the guts to say it because it's true, a shameful fact but whatever I'm not writing this to criticise how shallow our showbiz industry is, but let's talk about this awesome movie titled after an underrated national hero, Heneral Luna (General Antonio Luna).

Let me first talk about Gen. Antonio Luna based on what is taught to us in schools, Antonio Luna was the fiery-tempered but brilliant military strategist of Gen Aguinaldo. He was the brother of the famous painter Juan Luna. I was taught that he's a short-tempered person, a lunatic, and our history books are somewhat manipulated that heroes like Antonio Luna are underrated and irrelevant in my country's history and "heroes" like Pres. Aguinaldo are men who stands by his words, and he is one of the national heroes of the Philippines because of his bravery, he is known for his famous quote "We cannot free ourselves unless we move forward united in single desire." So basically I grew up with the knowledge of Pres. Aguinaldo as a true Filipino Hero and Atonio Luna as a Lunatic Hero.

I joined a military training after a year in college and in that academy we were taught about the "real history" and not the one our textbooks in schools, so I was 17 when I first learnt the real history of my country! (that sucks right?) and sadly only a few knows it too so I wasn't really open about my gained knowledge about the Philippine History because most of the youth of this generation just don't care really, because we think like we know everything already and since it's history so why talk about it right that's because we are the "past is past" generation. So I've learnt Aguinaldo's ways in that military academy and by then I resent Aguinaldo's ways, there's so much more I've learnt from that academy but I won't talk about it that much in here because I'll go "nerd-talking" again, but then we weren't taught about Luna's life.

Heneral Luna was the "talk-of-town" because of its cinematography and basically our lack of knowledge about Philippine History. So here is my movie review:

Set during the Philippine-American war, a short-tempered Filipino general faces an enemy more formidable than the American army: his own treacherous countrymen.In 1898, General Antonio Luna ( John Arcilla ), commander of the revolutionary army, is spoiling for a fight. The Philippines, after three hundred years as a Spanish colony, has unwillingly come under American rule. General Luna wants to fight for freedom but members of the elite would rather strike a deal with the United States. The infighting is fierce in the new cabinet but General Luna and his loyal men forge ahead even as his military decisions are met with resistance from soldiers who are loyal only to President Aguinaldo ( Mon Confiado ). Ultimately, it is the general’s legendary temper and pride that bring him to his death when a pack of presidential guards assassinate him in broad daylight. While American newspapers are quick to point the blame to Aguinaldo, the mystery has never been completely solved and the General’s killers were never put to justice.

There was a scene in the movie where Gen. Luna was visited by her mother, I've noticed that almost every great leader or hero has a strong mother, for example Rizal was taught by her mum, and even the famous Abraham Lincoln was close to her mother but other great heroes aside, Luna talks like his mum, they both have the same principles in life, but how Luna goes weak when it comes to his mum shows how he is a man with principles and not just a man who greed for power and fame, he fights for something more greater than him. He puts aside his personal life and needs just to fight for the freedom of his countrymen because this is what her mum taught him.

On one of the last scene in the film one American said this to Aguinaldo "You only had one general, and You killed him." Whatever Aguinaldo's intention were I still do resent him tho, he is really is a puppet president and for the record he is one of the national heroes that died of old age because he chose to surrender to the Americans than going against them and fight for his people's freedom.

so what is my take home from this movie? A lot! (warning: too long and too many)

First, this movie highlights the crab mentality of the Filipinos. Our real enemy is ourselves, why? we cannot accept our mistakes and flaws. We think that we are more knowledgeable than others that's why we have this mentality where we bring other people down just to prove them wrong and to prove a point that we are more highly capable than them. Especially on the last scene, it saddens and pisses me off that it was our own Filipino soldiers that killed Luna and what did we get from it? A proof that we cannot see greater things on a much larger scope we only see the surface of the problem that's why we are also called as of today "Emotional People" we tend to use our emotions more than our capacity to do logical criticism or thinking.

Second, this movie shows that we can not take pain very well. Aguinaldo didn't want Luna to train the soldiers because he was tough on people and short-tempered like he would actually shoot his own soldiers who were coward and useless shoot but not kill, which reminds me of the 300 Spartans who were trained to the death but though they were outnumbered and actually lost in the battlefield they fought hard and they were more than the strength of a thousand men. Luna might be tough but people learn more from pain than walking in a nice park while eating ice cream. My point is we focus too much on what the pain is causing us and not on what pain is teaching us.

Third, this movie shows how important it is to choose the right people to influence us. we have a control over who we should listen to and learn from. Well I could say that Aguinaldo's mum was probably have a great influence on Aguinaldo on the choices he was choosing, he was really a coward tho. Aguinaldo chose to listen to the ill witted government official who only wanted power and fame rather than listening to the one who speaks with purpose and depth. Unlike Luna who were surrounded with the people who were full of dreams and principles, for example his mum, his brother, and his colleague Rizal. Those were the people who he chose to learn from people with greater purpose.

Fourth, this movie proves ow fucked up our History Textbooks are, in the textbooks heroes like Luna are not given that much of credits and almost irrelevant to the Philippine history and heroes like Aguinaldo are the true heroes, I mean this is what the little kids are taught in our schools.

Fifth, this movie shows Filipinos are not ready to fight for its country, we are the kind of race who talks too much about ethics, while in fact ethics are ridiculous game played by many who think they can impose order in a arbitrary universe, but we are the kind of race that who really don't want to die for our country, our soldiers? yes, and our soldiers are actually somewhat underrated why? because they're higher officials suck everything this soldiers to have.

Lastly, this movie shows that we are not really a free country, as Dr. Rizal would say "There can be no tyrants where there are no slaves." If it isn't more obvious June 12 as Philippine's Independence Day is not true, why? Until now we are dependent on the government of America, we act like Americans, We speak like the Americans, We idolise the Americans so much that we thought this movie was made by an American, and whether we like it or not we are the "American Carbon Copies." I've visited places in Asia I've seen their museums and libraries (call me nerd but that's where I want to go every time I visit a foreign country) and each places I've been to gives so much attention to their history and there's no stories about how Americans saved them or how Americans helped them in building their country they take so much pride in their people that they always say that "Our people helped build this country" one Korean professor said this "The problem with you Filipinos is you always want to be happy, a little pain and you rant so much. You might say you love your country but you are not ready to die for her" he has a point who killed our heroes? our own race, now are we really free? No, we are not free from our own minds. It is the sad truth we go weak when we are placed in a room full of Americans, we do not even take pride of our own skin. We think being a brown race is a curse that's why a lot of people are fond of whitening soap because we wanted to be Americans so bad that we too criticise our own people with brown skin, so how are we really free when we don't even take pride in our own identity.

Is there a chance for Filipinos to have its own identity and be free from its colonialism mind? Yes. We already have our identity we just have to accept and love it. Love and die for your country. We Filipinos rant so much about the Chinese like how they want to take everything we have but the irony is we still buy their products. but anyways I'm not here to talk about the Chinese. Genius has no country. It blossoms everywhere. Genius is like the light, the air. It is the heritage of all. -Dr. Jose Rizal If we learn to think and take pride on our intellectual capabilities then we'll be free from thinking we are an incompetent or inferior race.

so that was my take-away from the movie.