With a production budget of ₱80 million, “Heneral Luna” is one of the most expensive Filipino epic historical films ever released. On September 29, 2015, it broke the previous record of ₱160 million to become the highest grossing Filipino historical film of all time, while also being one of the highest grossing Filipino films of all time in general.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Spanish colonial rule over the Philippines came to an end and the country gained its independence on June 12. Unwilling to face humiliation, Spain secretly sells the archipelago to the victorious Americans for $20 million during the Treaty of Paris. It is during this time that the story of the movie begins at the Barasoain Church in Malolos, during a cabinet meeting over the growing American presence in the Philippines, which actually sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Cabinet members Felipe Buencamino and Pedro Paterno propose to form an alliance with the Americans to avoid open conflict. Their words anger Generals Antonio Luna and José Alejandrino who consider them traitors, since they also cooperated with the Spaniards in the past, and instead propose to wage war against the Americans. Meanwhile, President Emilio Aguinaldo attempts to negotiate with the Americans over the control of Manila, which is still under Spanish control.
Eventually, however, the actions of the Americans actually force the war, with Luna and his trusted officers being on the front lines. Despite his intentions, Luna stumbles upon a series of problems, both from the enemy and the Filipinos, which is what turns him into a rather harsh individual. Particularly his infamous “Article One”, which states that those refusing to follow his orders shall be executed on the spot, to put insubordinate soldiers and officers under his control while mobilizing more men for the army, has dire consequences for everyone involved, while the anger regarding his attitude grows significantly in the upper echelons of the country.
“Heneral Luna” is a strange amalgam of a film, particularly due to Jerrold Tarog's presentation of the titular character. On the one hand, the opinions of his comrades, the Americans, and of the common people for the most part are a true dithyramb, as they praise both his military skills and him as a person. On the other hand, the hardness with which he admonished punishment and his general ‘iron-fist' rule brought him much hate, from politicians, members of the ruling class, and fellow generals, in an aspect that shows that he was not exactly perfect. This second element is what prevents the movie from becoming an hagiography, since his faults are also exhibited, extending to his relationship with his wife. At the same time, this contradiction makes it rather hard to understand the outcome of the portrait Tarog wanted to present, essentially detracting from the characterization, as it seems that he was struggling between portraying a perfect hero and a faulty man.
On the other hand, John Arcilla has captured this multileveled persona to perfection, with his anger, laughter, sadness, disappointment, heroism all being presented in outstanding fashion, in a truly wonderful, anchoring performance. The second great performance here comes from Mon Confiado as President Emilio Aguinaldo, with his interactions with various individuals regarding Luna, including the general himself, being among the best parts of the movie. In general, it is easy to say that the acting is on a very high level, with all the cast giving their best.
To get back to the context, what is presented with certainty are the inherent issues of the Filipino as people, with the lack of discipline and any kind of organizing creating a number of problems for the war against the Americans, which are depicted, occasionally in humorous fashion, as in the train incident, or more dramatic, most of the time. Furthermore, a comment about the role of the rich in any kind of similar situation is also commented upon, in a remark that is of universal value. These two aspects, one could say that they somehow justify Luna's harsh behavior, providing some justification for his extreme methods.
The presentation of the era and the war is rather realistic, with the job done in costumes, sets, location scouting etc being top notch. Pong Ignacio's cinematography excellently captures all the aforementioned, with the visual aspect in general being one of the biggest traits of the movie. Tarog's own editing results in a very fitting for the episodic nature of the narrative, relatively fast pace, but the issues with the pacing are quite evident also, as the film seems to be exclusively directed to people who know the story well, since realizing the time frame otherwise is quite difficult. Furthermore, some moments of melodrama become annoying after a fashion, as do some comments from outsiders for Luna (the Americans for example) which are not organically embedded in the narrative at all.
“Heneral Luna” has its issues, but as the sum of its individual components, the outcome is definitely positive, particularly due to Arcilla's performance and overall charisma ,and the visual approach that is befitting of a true epic.
