Guzman, Ysabelle Marian M.

11843357 GERIZAL Y21

Bayaning Third World (1999)

The whole plot of the film, Bayaning Third World, revolved around two filmmakers who
were trying to find something in Rizal’s life that was worth talking about. They opted to do a
detective-style kind of film, particularly investigating our national hero’s retraction document
that he supposedly signed the night before his execution. This retraction document was said to
signify that he takes back everything that he has said about the Church from which he is in, and
turns away from everything that is not in line with the practices of his faith. Dr. Jose P. Rizal was
seen in different perspectives throughout the whole film, and some of the accounts that were
presented were that of his siblings and his lover, Josephine Bracken. The whole film was
interesting to me, as it tackled certain scenarios in Rizal’s life that were not so often shed light
upon in the history books and subjects that I have encountered while studying his life,
particularly regarding his religion and his views on the Catholic Church that the Spanish friars
have been presenting to us. It was interesting that the accounts for Rizal’s retraction were
different for every sibling, as well as for Josephine Bracken, who claimed that she did marry Jose
Rizal before his execution on December 30, 1896. The big question about his religion moments
before the time of his death was the main point that made these filmmakers interview the
important people in Rizal’s life, though all were merely speculations and assumptions from
documents, as well as their imagination.

In the first part of the film, Rizal was seen as a patriot--the best example of a Filipino
serving for his country. I liked the narrator’s monologue about Rizal being in the one-peso coin,
as it showed how much Rizal is valued in the country. The one peso coin, though the monetary
value is small, is seen everywhere, and it is easily found in many people’s pockets and wallets. I
believe that says something about how impactful Rizal’s contribution is in the revolution for
independence of the Philippines against Spanish rule. His contribution was so impactful, that the
narrator even mentioned Rizal becoming a saint and the religious figure of certain cults.
However, since Rizal is constantly seen as a role model and the epitome of patriotism and
nationalism among Filipinos, it is difficult to see whether he was a man of religion; someone that
could not only uphold the values of a nationalistic Filipino, but also present himself as a disciple
of God. The remaining parts of the film was about the titter-tattering of whether Rizal signed the
retraction or not, and it was through their interviews with Rizal’s loved ones that they have
managed to get a better glimpse of who our national hero was.

Rizal was depicted as a man who went by his own beliefs rather than go with the masses.
Donya Teodora described Rizal as a very Catholic boy before he went abroad. While being
interviewed by one of the filmmakers, she expressed her dismay on the acquired knowledge her
son got abroad regarding philosophy and the criticisms of the religion that he was baptized in. In
one part of the film, he has mentioned that these acquired knowledge and beliefs were
thoroughly thought about, and not entirely influenced by the majority when he was still studying
in Spain. He did things that are in line with his truths, which was one of the reasons why he
wrote about the oppression of the Spanish friars in many of his written works. His education
abroad was the reason why he became enlightened by the fact that the religious teachings being
disseminated in the Philippines were merely the dismissal of true reasoning that should be taught
to Filipinos. Rizal has mentioned this in the film as well, telling his mother in a letter that the
sciences and the philosophies of the West have yet to reach the Philippines, where only
indulgence to be offered and the saints to be studied were given attention in the poor education
systems for the Filipinos. With the help of his education, he was able to write novels that he was
able to publish and bring to the Philippines so that many would see that the Church under the
Spanish friars were teaching heretical and are not morally correct in the religion that they baptize
and teach in.

There are still many unanswered questions in the last few moments of Rizal’s life. He did
not want to be a hero. Rather, he just wanted to help his fellow Filipinos rise from the clutches of
their Spanish colonizers through a way where no blood will be shed. He preferred that there
would be reform, rather than complete independence. Although this was the intention, his
writings became so impactful that it ignited the patriotism among the Filipinos who have read
these works, and have acted upon themselves to start the revolution and bring about the change
that Rizal had wanted through the messages and clues in his novels and letters.