Flick Review: Heneral Luna

9/13/2015 09:09:51 PM

Warning: This article may contain bunch of spoilers which may prompt you to either throw some expletive words at the author, or go to your nearby movie houses and watch the entire damn thing.

www.movienews.me

Okay. I have said this already a lot of times, but I guess I’ll do it once again: THIS MOVIE IS NOTHING BUT FUCKING AWESOME!

Hey, can I utter more words, aside from the fact that its trailer did not disappoint me at all? (Seriously, I saw several of them since late 2014.)

I mean, Heneral Luna (General Luna) is more than just being a tale of accounts on Antonio Luna’s life and times during the Filipino-American war. It’s also a reflection that we, the Filipino people—and the entirety of our society—might still be living on the old, darkish age known as the years of 1898 and 1899. (Yes, sans the foreign colonizers.)

John Arcilla is the same old hardworking-slash-hard line-bantering actor I have ever seen in the big screen. I mean, since he portrayed Ong on that Sean Ellis-created Metro Manila on 2013, I already took notice of his great craft. And his take on the lead role somewhat complemented to what the all-star cast had been doing. He truly deserved the distinction Heneral Artikulo Uno for showing not just the expressive prowess but also the true conviction of an impatient, angst-driven man, combating an even dangerous enemy—his treacherous countrymen and their conspiracy actions on how to put a supposedly-great man down. 

Perhaps, Director Jerrold Tarog made a convincing effect in creating ‘punching conversations’ among every character; thus appearing like a mixture of ages: contemporary content, dark humor, and modern approaches on storytelling. He could even be considered as a ‘one-man show’ for pulling off some mastery on these major tricks of the trade like musical scoring and editing.

I may have noticed this for quite numerous times: but those 'dark scenes' aren't just technically beautiful, but expresses the overall perspective of the flick. 

Ebe Dancel was no-question, a hands down in pulling off bunch of 'poetic justice' soundtracks like Hanggang Wala Nang Bukas. Talk about 'creative liberty.'

I think the risky strategy of putting off 50% discounts on students would work well. And it's not desperation, fellas. That's how you lure the younger generation to patronize historical flicks and prioritize the important (and even patriotic) duties such as education than a lot of bullshits this mainstream media has been offering right now. Now that's a literal question of 'nation versus self' ("Bayan o Sarili?")

After all, we need to wake our asses off and realize that Rizal, Bonifacio, and Aguinaldo aren’t the only ‘heroes’ we know; and what not all of the ‘truth’ are stated in the books. Some of them may be hidden by the lies and stigmas, and even buried six feet below the ground—even if we argue the contrary angle of accuracy on some parts of the motion picture.

Besides, I also thought of this: Heneral Luna wasn’t only made to humanize the General we have been studying in our history books; but also to mortalize its setting, where dirty politics dictate the nation’s fate thru the concept of regionalism, colonial and crab mentalities, and even conflict of personal interests.

And that, by the way, are also the same damn things that run this nation right now.

The Verdict: 9.85

Heneral Luna is a biopic created by Jerrold Tarog with scripts written by E.A. Rocha and the late Henry Hunt Francia. Starring John Arcilla, Mon Confiado, Mylene Dizon, Bing Pimentel, Jeffrey Quizon, Arron Villaflor, Archie Alemania, Joem Bascon, Alvin Anson, Nonie Buencamino, Alex Medina, Ronnie Lazaro, Ketchup Eusebio, Art Acuña, Leo Martinez, Lorenz Martinez, Benjamin Alves, Romcel Musca and with special participation of Paulo Avelino and Marc Abaya. The film was shown 9 September 2015 in cinemas nationwide. Produced by Artikulo Uno Productions and distributed by Quantum Films. Visit henerallunathemovie.com.

Author: slickmaster | ©2015 september twenty-eight productions

Follow SlickMaster on: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Flickr, and Tumblr.