Heneral Luna: The Chain of Events by Medina, Janine Mariel A.
 |
| *Photo not mine |
Heneral
Antonio Luna the movie, I must say, is the movie of the year. Not just because, it is all about our
history, but because it shows the current state of our motherland, the
Philippines, by reminding us of the past.
The movie
opens with Heneral Antonio Luna talking
about his uniform that was designed by his brother, Juan Luna. According to him,
he distributed the same type of uniforms to the other Filipino soldiers. His
reason? Because he does not want the Americans to underestimate us. He wants to
show to them that we are organized and ’kagalang-glang’. Unfortunately, his
co-general does not want to wear the new uniform. The uniform in this scene is
used as a metaphor with the relationship of the Filipinos to each other as not unified especially in the
scene where one of his co-generals reacted on the way he maltreated a Caviteno
for being irresponsible. They are thinking not as a nation, but as a region-
one of the reasons of their downfall. ( Also, the sinag tala of the sun on his uniform shows the eight provinces who fought against the Spaniards. I think, it is a metaphor to our Filipino saying " Pasan na krus")
During the
cabinet meeting, you will notice that Heneral Anotonio Luna and Emilio
Aguinaldo are at both ends of the table. This shows the two desires or wants of
the people within the cabinet- the people whose intention is more on a political side, like Buencamino and
Paterno and those people who desire for freedom. Also, this scene shows
equality between Luna and Aguinaldo. But this will change at the end of the
movie.
The burning
nipa hut and the American soldiers walking pass through the nipa hut
symbolizes/ shows that we are being conquered. That our motherland, our home,
was being taken away from us. This scene will be repeated at the end part of the movie.
This movie
also shows that the early Filipinos value gender equality. This can be seen
during the war where a soldier shouted, “
hoy! Bumalik nga kayo dito! Daig pa kayo ng mga babae oh!”. It proves that
gender is not a hindrance in fighting in a war, if your intention is pure and
for the freedom of your countrymen. Also, there are others scenes that show how
Filipino value the importance of women.
If you will
take a closer look, the color of the flag behind Antonio Luna’s (blue and red) and Emilio Aguinaldo’s office
(red and blue) are not the same. The colors are switched for some reason. Maybe
because, Aguinaldo is hiding his anger or jealousy to Luna, while Luna, has no
idea and even thought that he and Aguinaldo are in good terms.
The Parisian
painting of Juan Luna was also showed in the part where Antonio’s mother asked
him to close his eyes. And at the last
part of the movie, another Juan Luna
work will be seen.
The train
scene and the gathering of 2,000 men that became 4,000 symbolize the progress
of our nation during that time- slow. But it also showed how Filipinos think of
a way in order to fulfill the task. Just like what Luna did. He asked for three
days and went back with 4,000 men. Sometimes, determination is the key.
Since,
Mabini is the so called ´Utak ng
Katipunan’ , it kind of reminds me of Odysseus- the smartest among the
Greeks. Luna’s attitude (hot headed and boastful) reminds of Achilles, while
Aguinaldo (crab mentality) slightly reminds me of King Agamemnon. This is kind
of parallel to the Greek mythology.
The part
where Luna was strumming his guitar and the tension between him and Aguinaldo arose;
there was a moon that can be seen. And as we all know Luna in mythology is
moon. And during night time, the moon is being surrounded by darkness, which is
parallel to the dark aura between him and Aguinaldo.
And as I was
saying earlier, the equality between Aguinaldo and Luna will soon disappear. It
can be seen in the part where Aguinaldo was at the balcony, giving orders. It
showed how powerful he is as the president of the Republic of the Philippines.
But there
were also foreshadowing of events. Take a look at how the camera panned to
Gregorio del Pilar, and how his uniform ‘s color similar to Luna’s at the end
of the film. Coincidence? Maybe not. J
The last
scene. The most breathtaking part of the movie. The Spoliarium painted by
Heneral Antonio Luna’s brother, Juan Luna, can be seen.
The last
scene before credits role on was a burning flag that symbolizes our nation’s
downfall (until today).
And as for
the camera technique, most of the scenes used panning as a way of telling
story. It has the same technique used in the commercial of Prada. Is it
effective? Well, of course yes! Most especially the choice of words and the
acting of the character. And as for the production design, it is quite obvious
that it is indeed such a beauty and well prepared design. However, there is a ‘yero’ during the war scene. And during those days, ‘yero’ still does not exist. But as for the
cellphone, I was not really able to see it. Though according to my professor it
is quite big to notice.
This movie,
as what I have said earlier reminds us, Filipinos, of our crappy values
such as crab mentality (most especially because of the upcoming elections) and
our regional mentality. We are all Filipinos, and Philippines is our
motherland. We should all think of each other for we are brothers and sisters,
and this is our nation. Also, this movie uses a satire kind of language.
Sarcastic, comedy, yet serious and dark.
In today’s
politics, since the upcoming election for president is getting closer, I should
say that this movie came out just in time! Why you ask? Simply because it also
shows how the politicians of the early times abused their power and their
connections to be excused of the crimes that they are guilty of. Just like what
Buencamino and Paterno did. This movie also showed what can a powerful
government or a person can do.
Since I am
huge fan of the Philippine history, I really did enjoy the movie. Especially
the last scenes wherein the characters where saying their feelings as if they
were confessing. Also, it kind of reminds me of the present As for learnings, I learned that we teamwork is what really
needed while working with a group. And of course, trust. Let us prove to
Heneral Luna that we are united. Let us not bring him down.
0 comments:
Post a Comment