Kirsten Gabrielle B.

Gipit Life and Works of Rizal

1 SLP-A

José Rizal (1998)

Jose Rizal once said with great expectation, "Without education and liberty, which are
the soil and the sun of man, no reform is possible, no measure can give the result desired." It
can be clearly seen that Rizal, even in his early childhood years, already gave great importance
to education and has already showed presence of mind that exceptional to his age. Being logical
with his every move really proved his greatness.

The film, Jose Rizal of 1988, directed by Marilou Diaz, narrates the life of our National
Hero, including all his works and accomplishments during the colonization of the Spaniards our
country. Even with its oldness and lengthiness, this film is still a classic and commendable to be
watched, especially by the youth. It is also still timely today due to current political issues we
have in our country. This film is all about patriotism and heroism, and truly gave justice in
portraying Rizal, from his childhood, his education, and his struggle for freedom which he
fought through his writings. It was through his works lead to us finally gaining freedom after
years of misery, that is, sadly, in the expense of his life. It was his pen instead of the guns and
weapons that succeeded in conquering the Spaniards. He proved that violence against violence
would not solve anything and will just give birth to more conflicts. Through watching this,
people would really learn a lot about the fundamentals of Philippine’s history.

The film flows through series of flashbacks showing Rizal as a son, a brother, a friend, a
lover, a doctor, a writer, and of course, as a hero. You can clearly see how Filipinos were
mistreated and discriminated. The Spaniards ruthless treatment was really felt. His most famous
works, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo were also emphasized and presented by the
characters which Rizal immortalized- Simoun and Señor Ibarra. No one except Rizal had a great
impact against the Spaniards and the Filipinos. No Filipino during that time like him was greatly
exalted and respected and highly opponent of the government.

After watching the film one will learn to appreciate more on how our Filipino heroes
battled the Spaniards for the sake of truth and freedom, and how they learned to unite to achieve
a mutual goal. One will also learn that great care should be exercised when planning a
revolution; good judgment instead of rash decisions should be made. Jose Rizal The Movie is for
every Filipino. Jose Rizal is a Filipino, he is our fellow citizen and if Jose Rizal is a Filipino, I
strongly agree that every one of us can be like Jose Rizal because there is blood like Jose Rizal
that flows in each of us.