To start with, the movie was really great. I was very pleased with the way the writers wrote and organized the entire plot of the movie, and the way the director lead all the cast to portray the real characters of the people involved in Rizal’s life. I was also amazed with the way they talked in different foreign languages, especially Spanish. Every time they were speaking Spanish or other languages continuously and fluently, my jaw drops. I ran out of words to say how great they were in speaking those kinds of languages. That’s why throughout the movie, I just kept on uttering the line, “Wow. Ang galing.” The script was written very well. The writers carefully chose the right and appropriate words for such scenes. I know they did it with much care because they don’t want to alter or change a meaning of something that had happened in our history. The places where the scenes were shot were beautiful, but I just don’t like the place where Rizal was shot in the end. I just feel that it was not that suitable, but the rest of the places suited the movie well. The costumes worn by the actors and actresses were also spectacular. I can honestly say that the places and costumes really played an important role of making the movie seem real. That’s why for me, when I was watching the movie, it was like a time travel to the late nineteenth century. I feel that I was really there, watching the real happenings in that historical era.
The music and sound effects also suited each scenes of the film. The music that was used in every part of the movie also helped in making the audience feel what the characters were feeling. The special effects like the one used when Teodora Alonso was telling the story of the gamo-gamo to Pepe was great, it seems like it was real; and also the entire film was made to look somewhat like an old film. It actually contributed to the historical feeling I felt while watching the movie. I really saw that every part of the movie was made with delicate care and a lot of preparation and research. I know that the actors, especially Cesar Montano, have gone through a lot of trainings just to make themselves like the characters they are portraying in the film. Their acting was remarkable. I can say that the whole life story of our national hero, Jose Rizal, was justified. The whole cast and staff of the movie succeeded in making the life of Rizal come to life. They made the audience experience all the things that Rizal had gone through.
The film portrayed the significant events that occurred in Rizal’s life. I actually refreshed my memory about our Philippine history when I watched this movie. The movie really showed a lot of truths about the colonial rule of Spaniards. The part where they showed Pepe studying under Justiniano Cruz and then he was punished by the teacher because of a very foolish truth, that Pepe knows a little of other languages, was quite irritating. Imagine you will be hit just because you are knowledgeable of something. That scene really made me pissed off with the teacher, and with the fact that the teacher doesn’t want his students to learn and progress. The film also showed how powerful the friars were at that time, and it also showed their abuses of power. The friars, supposedly fathers of the people, raped women, and did everything just to stop Rizal from opening the eyes and awakening the Filipinos. They also replaced Blanco as the governor-general because he was already siding with Rizal. These evil acts made them inferior than all the indios that they call barbaric and non-civilized. I also actually hated them because of what they did. While watching, I feel like I want to enter into scene and speak up for the rights of the Filipinos they are insulting. That’s why I was really laughing when I watched the part where Rizal ridiculed one of his friar teachers because of talking about superiority of the Spaniards to the Filipinos. I also loved the part where Rizal, not knowing anything about what’s happening, shouted “Libertad!” repeatedly; also his moments with Leonor Rivera made me kilig. I love those scenes because I knew that our national hero also has a fun side or like a humorous side and that he was also a man who falls in love with a woman. It made me felt that he was really an ordinary man that had done extraordinary things for his family and of course, for our country.
The movie also showed the brutality of the Spaniards. They evicted all the people of Calamba from their homes with force. The Spaniards also tortured Paciano by applying pins under his fingernails just to extract information and evidence of Jose’s complicity in the revolution. The film also cleared what really happened between Del Pilar and Rizal. I thought that they fought because Rizal wanted to be the president of Sol but Del Pilar won. I was wrong. I knew that they fought because Del Pilar took the La Solidaridad as a private organization and not for the whole country. I admired Rizal more because of what he did; he stood up against them even if he knew that doing so will make him appear weak and a loser because no one is on his side. The movie also showed that during his trial, the audience was composed mainly of Spaniards, which we all know are against Rizal. Looking at this, you can already see the bias. Even if Taviel presented and did all what he can do, the Spaniards still condemned Rizal to death without much justification and evidences. It kept me thinking why are there such people in this world, people who would do everything for the worse of someone. The great impact and influence of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo was also portrayed in the movie. The novels of Rizal opened the eyes of the Filipinos to the reality and even inspired the Katipunan, especially Bonifacio, to revolt. Speaking of Bonifacio, he was really a man of courage. In fact, in the movie, his scenes made me smile, because he was like always angry while uttering his lines. But I also honestly admire him, because of his determination to fight for our independence. I am proud that he succeeded with his plans and we became independent.
Going back to the movie itself, I loved its ending. The part where Rizal was executed made my eyes teary, but I didn’t cry because my classmates were there. When he was shot, the Filipinos cried, but the Spaniards rejoiced and played a very lively music. For me, it was a very emotional scene, because I saw the grief and sadness of all the people who knew Rizal, may it be his family, or friends, or even other people he didn’t know but knew him as a hero.
After watching the movie, I realized how much Rizal loved his family, especially his mom. I also knew that aside from being a great writer and ophthalmologist, Rizal was a really great person. He thought of others first before himself. He chose to die for the sake of others. Even if he had many opportunities to escape he didn’t, because he wanted to show that Filipinos know how to die for their principles in life. He also chose death for the Spaniards to spare the innocent people around him. Rizal wanted to save all the Filipinos by sacrificing his own life. I really love his line, “What matters death if one dies for what one loves, for native land and cherished ones?” I can’t express in words how I admire and look up to Rizal. He really played a very important role in achieving our independence.
As I was searching the net for additional information about the movie, I found out that this movie was filmed in 1998 to mark the 1998 centennial of the country’s independence from Spanish colonial rule. I also found out that this film was actually one of the biggest and the most successful films ever made in the history of Philippine cinema with a record-breaking P80-million budget. They really invested a lot for this, and fortunately, their efforts paid off. I was 6 years old when this movie was released. I can’t even recall a memory of it. Back then, I didn’t know its true essence and significance to us Filipinos. But now, I know. I really know.
The music and sound effects also suited each scenes of the film. The music that was used in every part of the movie also helped in making the audience feel what the characters were feeling. The special effects like the one used when Teodora Alonso was telling the story of the gamo-gamo to Pepe was great, it seems like it was real; and also the entire film was made to look somewhat like an old film. It actually contributed to the historical feeling I felt while watching the movie. I really saw that every part of the movie was made with delicate care and a lot of preparation and research. I know that the actors, especially Cesar Montano, have gone through a lot of trainings just to make themselves like the characters they are portraying in the film. Their acting was remarkable. I can say that the whole life story of our national hero, Jose Rizal, was justified. The whole cast and staff of the movie succeeded in making the life of Rizal come to life. They made the audience experience all the things that Rizal had gone through.
The film portrayed the significant events that occurred in Rizal’s life. I actually refreshed my memory about our Philippine history when I watched this movie. The movie really showed a lot of truths about the colonial rule of Spaniards. The part where they showed Pepe studying under Justiniano Cruz and then he was punished by the teacher because of a very foolish truth, that Pepe knows a little of other languages, was quite irritating. Imagine you will be hit just because you are knowledgeable of something. That scene really made me pissed off with the teacher, and with the fact that the teacher doesn’t want his students to learn and progress. The film also showed how powerful the friars were at that time, and it also showed their abuses of power. The friars, supposedly fathers of the people, raped women, and did everything just to stop Rizal from opening the eyes and awakening the Filipinos. They also replaced Blanco as the governor-general because he was already siding with Rizal. These evil acts made them inferior than all the indios that they call barbaric and non-civilized. I also actually hated them because of what they did. While watching, I feel like I want to enter into scene and speak up for the rights of the Filipinos they are insulting. That’s why I was really laughing when I watched the part where Rizal ridiculed one of his friar teachers because of talking about superiority of the Spaniards to the Filipinos. I also loved the part where Rizal, not knowing anything about what’s happening, shouted “Libertad!” repeatedly; also his moments with Leonor Rivera made me kilig. I love those scenes because I knew that our national hero also has a fun side or like a humorous side and that he was also a man who falls in love with a woman. It made me felt that he was really an ordinary man that had done extraordinary things for his family and of course, for our country.
The movie also showed the brutality of the Spaniards. They evicted all the people of Calamba from their homes with force. The Spaniards also tortured Paciano by applying pins under his fingernails just to extract information and evidence of Jose’s complicity in the revolution. The film also cleared what really happened between Del Pilar and Rizal. I thought that they fought because Rizal wanted to be the president of Sol but Del Pilar won. I was wrong. I knew that they fought because Del Pilar took the La Solidaridad as a private organization and not for the whole country. I admired Rizal more because of what he did; he stood up against them even if he knew that doing so will make him appear weak and a loser because no one is on his side. The movie also showed that during his trial, the audience was composed mainly of Spaniards, which we all know are against Rizal. Looking at this, you can already see the bias. Even if Taviel presented and did all what he can do, the Spaniards still condemned Rizal to death without much justification and evidences. It kept me thinking why are there such people in this world, people who would do everything for the worse of someone. The great impact and influence of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo was also portrayed in the movie. The novels of Rizal opened the eyes of the Filipinos to the reality and even inspired the Katipunan, especially Bonifacio, to revolt. Speaking of Bonifacio, he was really a man of courage. In fact, in the movie, his scenes made me smile, because he was like always angry while uttering his lines. But I also honestly admire him, because of his determination to fight for our independence. I am proud that he succeeded with his plans and we became independent.
Going back to the movie itself, I loved its ending. The part where Rizal was executed made my eyes teary, but I didn’t cry because my classmates were there. When he was shot, the Filipinos cried, but the Spaniards rejoiced and played a very lively music. For me, it was a very emotional scene, because I saw the grief and sadness of all the people who knew Rizal, may it be his family, or friends, or even other people he didn’t know but knew him as a hero.
After watching the movie, I realized how much Rizal loved his family, especially his mom. I also knew that aside from being a great writer and ophthalmologist, Rizal was a really great person. He thought of others first before himself. He chose to die for the sake of others. Even if he had many opportunities to escape he didn’t, because he wanted to show that Filipinos know how to die for their principles in life. He also chose death for the Spaniards to spare the innocent people around him. Rizal wanted to save all the Filipinos by sacrificing his own life. I really love his line, “What matters death if one dies for what one loves, for native land and cherished ones?” I can’t express in words how I admire and look up to Rizal. He really played a very important role in achieving our independence.
As I was searching the net for additional information about the movie, I found out that this movie was filmed in 1998 to mark the 1998 centennial of the country’s independence from Spanish colonial rule. I also found out that this film was actually one of the biggest and the most successful films ever made in the history of Philippine cinema with a record-breaking P80-million budget. They really invested a lot for this, and fortunately, their efforts paid off. I was 6 years old when this movie was released. I can’t even recall a memory of it. Back then, I didn’t know its true essence and significance to us Filipinos. But now, I know. I really know.
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