Darwin A.

Delvo
BSIT2R1

Mrs. Jocelyn Chua

REACTION PAPER IN THE MOVIE JOSE RIZAL

The movie tells the life story of Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines. Athree-hour epic on
the life and struggles of his poet and patriotisms. It covers his life
fromh i s c h i l d h o o d t o h i s e x e c u t i o n a t t h e h a n d s o f t h e S p a n i s h f o r c e s o c
c u p y i n g t h e Philippines in the late 19th century. We are also thrown into the world of Rizal's
novels(filmed in black and white), so we get a glimpse of how he viewed Filipino society under the
Spanish heal.
The film also through a series of flashback showing Rizal as a genius, a writer, adoctor, an artist, a
lover, a friend, a brother and a son, thus giving a rich texture of Rizalscharacter.
The movie introduces us to the life of subjugation of the Filipino people under therule of the Spanish
friars. From the execution of three Filipino priests in 1872 for allegedsubversion to the harsh and
unequal treatment of Filipino students in the schools, this film is a stinging indictment of
Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines.
I a l s o c o m m e n d t h e f i l m f o r i t s b r a v e r y i n s h o w i n g t h e e v i l t y r a n n y o f t h e Catholic
Church during that time. Considering that the Philippines is a Catholic nationthat is like
butchering a sacred cow but alas, Abaya works her magic in depicting the suffering of the
Filipinos because of the friars.
This is by far the best Filipino movie that I have seen so far. I would urge anyonereading this who
likes movies, to either rent it or buy it.
I particularly love the last scene of the film when Rizal fell in the ground facingthe sky,
having his last breath looking at a beautiful sunrise- a metaphor depicting thatRizal did
not die in vain. He did not die for nothing. He did not die defeated. Rather hedied
victorious because his death is the torch that lights Philippine independence, that ignites
Philippine Revolution.