I AM so glad that Heneral Luna is on its third week in movie houses.
Hoping that I would catch it on the second week when some showings had limited hours, the loud clamor nationwide showed this superb movie once again on regular screening hours and still on with many movie goers patronizing it.
Discounts are given to students who are encouraged to watch the movie but personally I feel that this is a “must-see” for all government officials—incumbent and “wannabee”—plus all government employees and all civil servants and every Filipino as well.
Antonio Luna may have said it a century ago but it is so true of our times when government service tantamount to a business enterprise: “Negosyo o Kalayaan… Bayan o Sarili…Pumili Ka.”
Today, it is public knowledge or the norm that public servants, even employees, do receive gifts when favoring a closed transaction.
The Priority Development Assistance Fund and Disbursement Acceleration Program is still unresolved so the answer to Luna’s question would be foremost “Sarili” and definitely “Negosyo.”
The flow of corruption is so rampant that the taint and stench of dishonesty and exploitation can even permeate the holy of holies. In time, there is a reverse transfiguration…“Mayroon tayong mas malaking kaaway… ang ating sarili.”
The idealist who enters the world of governance with the noblest of intentions either comes out totally devastated or becomes the very person he/she was lobbying against. Virtue and valor as said by Mabini is “Mahirap hulihin ang hangin.”
In the movie, Felipe Buencamino (a member of Aguinaldo’s Cabinet) justifies Luna’s death with the words: “Hindi ko ginusto na siya ay mamatay, pero naniniwala akong makatarungan ang nangyari. Malupit siya, abusado, mayabang!” How can one justify hacking a person mercilessly until his intestines are in full display?
It is a given that Antonio Luna was a hot head. But his passion and love for his country is admirable. Heralded as one of the, if not the greatest, generals of the country, the Americans are quoted as saying of Luna: “They only had one general and they killed him.”
The descendants of Emilio Aguinaldo must be cringing with the insinuations in the movie. He had the Bonifacio brothers killed and Antonio Luna.
The first President of the Philippines may have felt that his position was compromised by the Supremo and Luna who said: “Walang nakakaangat sa batas- kahit pa presidente.” Those are loaded statements then, and now, Aguinaldo died in 1964. Those are many years to think whether his life was heroic or as some paint him a traitor.
Antonio Luna’s biography is quite impressive. A graduate of the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, the Jesuits recognized his aptitude in chemistry. He was also interested in literature which he pursued further at the University of Sto. Tomas where his essay entitled “Dos Cuerpos Fundamentales de la Quimica” (Two Fundamental Bodies of Chemistry”) won first prize in a competition. He likewise studied music, military science, and marksmanship.
Then he moved to Madrid, where he earned a Licentiate in Pharmacy as well as a Doctorate. After completing his doctorate, Luna moved to Paris, where he researched on bacteriology and histology at the Pasteur Institute, and later to Belgium, where he studied medical chemistry.
When Luna returned to the Philippines, he was given a grant to study tropical and communicable diseases. He was the first person to conduct environmental science studies. These studies included researching the contents of several sources of water, which he found to be unfit to drink.
He was also the first person to conduct a study on Philippine forensic science, studying human blood and how it could be used as evidence when investigating crimes. (Luna was our very first CSI.)
A sportsman, Luna opened a fencing club in Manila, and this brought him to secret society circles that wanted to gain independence from Spain. One such society was called the Katipunan. When the Katipunan was discovered, Luna was exiled to Spain in 1897 and put in prison in Madrid. During his time in prison he had decided to join the revolution. He was one of the notable contributors of the La Solidaridad.
Antonio Luna studied military science and strategy in several European cities. When he returned to the Philippines in July 1898, he quickly rose up the military ranks and was made a general. He started a military academy and became known as a strict disciplinarian. He was quick to insult, arrest, or disarm any soldier for insubordination.
The movie Heneral Luna likewise showed us Luna’s poetic side and there are many scenes that beautifully portrayed his sensibilities. That scene with him against the full moon in the capiz windows was excellent. His guitar playing was intense—capturing Luna’s frustration and passion.
I am not a movie critic but I do love watching epic movies and thank God we have a movie like Heneral Luna of historical, cultural and artistic quality. At the end of the movie, many applauded and cheered!
My congratulations and awe to the producers, the directors and the cast who gave us such a powerful movie to digest. I hope this will set a trend among our movie producers.