Film Review on Sakay and Heneral Luna.

Patricia Anne D. Javier PUP BPA 1-1 Prof. Jun Valila GEED10033 - Readings in Philippine History VIVA GENERALISSIMO! Antonio Luna. From his last name, we can easily judge that it came from the word “lunatic” that means a wildly foolish person. Some may say that this man is insane for what he believes and do. But looking deeply in his perseverance and intellect in war, you can sense the huge amount of hope he has on our country. A good example of his heroic deed was the way he plans out how to stop the Americans from reaching the upper Luzon. This kind of nationalism did not end to Luna. Another man had this kind of vision to the country. His name is Macario Sakay. An underrated leader and hero of our country. Both showed their readiness to die for the sake of our country’s independence. But first, let us talk about Macario Sakay. The movie entitled “Sakay” directed by Raymond Red shows the life of Macario Sakay and how he fought for our independence after Bonifacio. In the eyes of his colleagues, he is a general. In contrary, he was interpreted by the colonizer as a Bandit at their time. Several insurgencies had made by them that caught the attention of the Americans because it was against them. It aims to oust these colonizers in our country. Watching the movie is a bit hard for me because of the quality of it. But the scenarios of it is still visible and gives impact on the audience. It did not hesitate to show how these Americans used violence to condemn the fighters of our homeland. This movie is an eye-opener for everyone because for sure, some of us do not know who is the last katipunero, Macario Sakay. We may hear his name, but we do not know what he did for us. Next is the very famous general who has a bad-mouth, Antonio Luna. In the movie Heneral Luna directed by Jerrold Tarog, John Arcilla played the role of Heneral Luna. I applaud him for his exemplary acting skill that really fits the description of our very own Luna. He may seem very strict since the first thing that he implemented when he led the troop was to have a uniform for all the troops of the army. In this scene, we can sense that he wants to unite our country despite of having diversity because of our selfish wants. Some of the members of the cabinet may see him craving for war, but he simply believes in talking with these colonizers for peace will not open their eyes to have mercy on us. They want to compromise with the Americans to have a talk for the agreements and terms for the autonomy of our country under their protection. But Luna, with his principles, believe that stopping them to reach the North Philippines and having fortress on Cordillera will work. He highlighted; we must go through radical change for us to become a country. Luna believed that compromising for them is a treasonous act. The person who only fights for what he wants is a traitor like Buencamino and Paterno. These wants will pushes them to settle for being a slave on our own country for the sake of their beloved business and the so called “economy” that they are protecting. He believes that a person who has liberty should not be tied up. Our self-interest ties us up from committing liberty. We become coward for protecting our wants instead of fighting for the universal goal, to have an autonomy to our own country. Knowing Luna being short-tempered, he began to think excessively of the traitor. He shouted at the plaza that no one is above the law, even the president. He did not bother to say it even though it will reach Aguinaldo. Everyone in the place heard what he said. In that moment, Mascardo was there. He mentioned Bonifacio to Aguinaldo, but he had flashbacks on the killings of Procopio and Andres Bonifacio. He said, there might be another incident like what happened to the Bonifacio brothers. This faction got worse when General Mascardo does not want to follow Luna. Luna wants Mascardo to bring more troops in Quinga (Plaridel nowadays) and Bagbag (Calumpit nowadays) for higher security against Americans. Unfortunately, Mascardo is in a fiesta in Pampanga. Mascardo does not want to follow Luna because he just got in Pampanga and will return after looking for more troops in Pampanga. They got in heat and Luna wants to arrest Mascardo. He successfully arrested Mascardo with the word of Aguinaldo but the fortress in Bagbag and Quinga was attacked by the Americans. A lot died and injured. Luna tried to file for resignation, but Mabini and Aguinaldo denied it. He claimed that no one could handle this war, only Luna. After that, he asked General Mascardo, Buencamino, and Paterno their thoughts about Luna aside from what they already know. That time, Mascardo and these 2 traitors said what Mascardo saw in the Plaza. Paterno added, he heard that Luna has a plan on ousting Aguinaldo for him to become a dictator. Mabini disagreed but Mascardo, Paterno, and Buencamino added fuel to the fire. They mentioned that there are few great generals who could replace Luna and his generalissimo will not bring any good. Aguinaldo was convinced with the words of an incompetent general and a traitor capitalist. Aguinaldo sent a letter to Luna that he wants to talk in Cabanatuan regarding the plan of having a new cabinet. Luna’s men applauded because they think that this will be a good start for the radical change. On their way, they got stranded. The genuine Bernal brothers, Manuel and Jose was left and tasked to follow Luna with Rusca and Paco after fixing the commotion that caused the delay on their way. When they got to Cabanatuan, the place seems to be abandoned. Luna entered and he first saw the guards of Cavite. He saw Buencamino instead of Aguinaldo in the President’s Office there and they argued. Aguinaldo was not there, Luna walked out. As he walks out, he saw the captain of Kawit whom he embarrassed in front of his battalion before because he did not follow Luna’s command. The idiot general used bolo to slash Luna. He got surprised when Luna resisted on his slash. He continuously slashes Luna with his troop until he died. General Luna’s security personnel, Rusca and Paco was arrested. In the end, a lot of opportunities and chances were wasted. A brighter future ahead was destroyed due to a man’s ego. Luna greatly does his job excellently with passion made an impression to his critics especially Aguinaldo. He wants to have an agreement with the colonizers and Luna wants to oust the colonizers. Their goals will not meet that is why one must get out of the way for one’s plan to be executed. Aguinaldo decided to get rid of Luna for he is threaten for what Luna can do. He is naïve enough to believe in hearsays. He could have been a great leader if and only if he let Luna do his ways of discipline instead of condemning it. For Luna, he is indeed a great leader. A leader should have a principle for them to become effective. This principle will become the backbone of their leadership. In Luna, he believes that dying and sacrificing for the country equates loving it. Originally, he is already a doctor, but he left his profession to join the war. Also, he prioritized our country over his family. Also, I praise his belief that no one is above the law, even the president. This must be applied right now to President Duterte. Presidency should not become a free escape pass to imprisonment. These 2 movies left me questioning myself, does the way I love my country enough? Sakay and Luna’s hardships made me realize that my struggles in mobilization is nothing compared to what they have been through. It emphasized that we should practice what we preach. Saying that we are for the country is not enough. Making this statement into action is a must. Iskolar ng Bayan, ngayon ay lumalaban. References Red, R. (Director). (1993). Sakay [Motion Picture]. Tarog, J. (Director). (2015). Heneral Luna [Motion Picture].