Heneral Luna (2015)

People are voting emotionally.

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Set in the war between Americans and Filipinos. The Americans are invading the Philippines until the Filipinos give up, this includes killing the lives of the innocent. The Philippine Government are conducting a plan while many want to negotiate for better profit. General Luna is there to stop the greed and focus and prioritize the state of the nation.General Antonio Luna is infamous, mad, unafraid, furious and above all cares for his family, fellow-soldiers and country men. He will stop at nothing until he accomplish his mission of giving freedom to his country. He disciplines and trains the soldiers into making them independent and not some slackers or cowards within the war. He removes all the corrupted he can find. Inspiration is key and that's what he wants to show to all his soldiers.In the end, the face of the real enemy is revealed. It's one of his own. Savagely killed by his own country-men. Showing No Mercy to a man who only wants what's better for the whole country.I love the exposure shown to what the message was. It had many symbolisms and morals one might enjoy learning. John Arcilla really turns into the character he's portraying, he even looks like him. The effects use was really brutal, the sound was pretty great to and the cinematography had very beautiful shots and lightning in some scenes. The comedy present was a nice addition to the film and making it more entertaining to watch. The direction by Jerrold Tarog shines on how careful the actors give their performances. The script is rich with very detailed and fun lines of entertainment.I will say that this film is not propaganda, it's not bragging of which country is better, it's does not promote blind nationalism. It's more on what's present and understandable with the value of claiming responsibility. It does not send you the message of "This film makes me shameful and filling me guilt you into liking it.". It's better if you understand your reflections.

While not entirely a groundbreaking film in the strict sense of the word, there's just a number of firsts in "Heneral Luna" (2015, Phil.), the latest work from the director of the excellent Camera trilogy ("Confessional", "Mangatyanan", "Sana Dati"), Jerrold Tarog. Chief among which, of course, is the subject-matter itself: Antonio Luna (played to perfection by John Arcilla), the valiant and volcanic Filipino general who was a major force in the Philippines' fight for freedom and independence from the American colonizers during the later part of the 19th century. Filipino historical films or biopics seem to be generally restricted to just two prominent figures: Andres Bonifacio and Jose Rizal. From the top of my mind, I can only recall a couple of films that featured heroes other than those two stalwarts: a Macario Sakay film by Raymond Red and one about Lapu-Lapu starring Lito Lapid. If there are other such works still, they may have already been drowned in obscurity.Thus, a film that details the significant contribution of Gen. Antonio Luna to our history (or his life and death, if one may opt to say so) should be most welcome. After all, as our history is undeniably marked by numerous wars and battles, it would be just apt that we get to encounter as well those who helped maneuver our frontline fight against the foreign intruders and colonizers. And so, how does Tarog's "Heneral Luna" actually come about as a viewing fare? To put it succinctly, the film is brimming with delight, irreverence, and fervent and genuine patriotism. And to top it all, the characters, most specially the key figures, are portrayed with a fresh breeze of humanism, rather than as cold textbook derivations. While watching the film, one really gets the feeling that all the proclamations of nationalism and duty to and love for country aren't merely hollow airings, but are genuinely impassioned without having to spell them out in big, bold letters. And while at it, "Heneral Luna" manages to be consistently entertaining as well, with its humor and some off-the-wall moments. Such is the accomplishment of the film. At the film's prologue, it's pointed out that the filmmakers have taken the liberty of combining "fact" and "fiction" to be able to bring across bigger truths. Thus, the inspired artistic choices: the young journalist who "interviews" Gen. Luna;the general's clandestine love affair with a woman named Isabel;the "flashbacks" within a narrative that's already by nature a flashback by way of history;Luna's stirring guitar-tuned flamenco under the moonlight which, in effect, is also a swan-song;the poignant touch of magic realism towards the end, accompanied by Beethoven's plaintive piano sonata. The film, likewise, doesn't shy away from a brutal and graphic depiction of the battlefront and of the tragic fate of the general in the hands of his own men. This is all due to the brave and intelligent screenplay by Tarog, E.A. Rocha and Henry Hunt Francia, and the unflinching and imaginative direction by Tarog himself. (If one is keen enough to pick up the "signals", the historical saga will most definitely have a continuation with the stories of Gregorio del Pilar (to be portrayed most probably by Paolo Avelino) and Manuel Quezon (most likely to be interpreted by Benjamin Alves);Tarog is no stranger to making a trilogy.)On point of performance, while everyone has put in invaluable work, the film is undoubtedly owned by Arcilla. As the title character, the actor is able to delineate on screen the general's reputed fierceness, hardheadedness, brashness and fearlessness with gusto and aplomb. One can really see that he relishes his character flesh and bone that the screen simply flares up every time he's in the frame. But beneath the volcanic personality, one can still sense a deeply-felt love for the country and an unassailable desire to fight for its freedom till the end being harbored by the general. It's an incomparable performance that sees through the humanity of a "monster". While it has to be admitted that the film's irreverence, narrative- and character-wise, isn't unique to itself as one can in fact recall Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H*", Franklin J. Schaffner's "Patton", Mike Nichols' "Catch-22" and even our own Mike de Leon's "Bayaning Third World", nevertheless "Heneral Luna" is to be applauded for being able to infuse fresh vigor to the historical drama that's rarely seen nowadays. If it's to be of any note, the film starts and ends with the image of the Philippine flag - in the first, the national emblem is fresh and intact;while in the second, it's burning to ashes. It's sad to think what this coda really says to our journey as a nation so far.

Films like this and directors like Terog, renew your faith. From the opening shot, how they introduced the characters, the make up and the style to put early 1900s are all laudable. But accolades are in order for the story and screenplay and how the people behind this movie were able to make history interesting for the ordinary movie going public. This chronicles how Luna , a brilliant military leader, planned the strategy against the Americans. As in any micro society today, there is regionalism (One general will only take orders from a fellow Caviteño) and treachery (last scene). Another thing I love about this movie are the homage to Juan Luna's paintings. Juan and Antonio Luna went to Europe during the Spanish time, where they were awaken by the Spaniard's oppression. In one scene, Juan Luna is painting The Parisian Life and in the movie's final big scene, I saw a glimpse of Spolarium when the bodies were being transferred to another corner. But what I like most in all these, is the fact that somebody thought of doing a movie about history and doing it well. Go watch this.

OK, I don't want to be biased here, the film was just OK. It was not excellent nor was it bad. It was just OK. I like the script thou, especially the joke part and the cursings. I feel like i'm watching Inglorious Basterds, the way they killed him in the last part of the movie, he was like this "masamang damo, mahirap mamatay" "Bad weed, hard to kill" (forgive my translation) kind of scene. It was gruesome and a little too much. The part when he travels to a lot of places was also confusing, he arrives just too fast. My favorite scene was the first battle scene, where he charge with his horse right straight to the enemy. The part when he was about to shoot his head, because he thought it was already the end, and unknowingly made his fellow filipino soldiers rallied with him in the battle field revive with courage because of his acts of chivalry and great example for fighting for inang bayan (mother land). I was really touch by that scene and was just holding back to clap so as not to annoy my seatmate in the cinema.The close your eyes scene was also nice, the composites of the scenes in interchanging events, technically perfectly executed. The special effects and the sound effects was also good. I would not make this long, the film in general promotes the idea of sticking up with your principles, that is, it should not be biased, conditional and incorruptible. To Mr J Tarog, the cast and the writers of the movie, hats off, its my first time to watch a movie where after the credit part/end part people were clapping there hands. Certainly they were touched in sorts of ways to react like that. I think that is the essence of making a film, that after watching it, a little mark is left behind could be an idea of sorts good or bad, it doesn't matter. Certainly it did mark for me, especially Artikulo Uno!