Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, also known as Jose Rizal, is a

well-known Filipino who was awarded the National Hero of the Philippines for
his patriotism. Jose Rizal was well-known in surrounding nations and was
even dubbed "The Great Malayan Hero" for battling colonialism and
defending the Malay people's dignity. It is a tribute to a Malay descendant
who spoke out against colonial tyranny, and it is something that every
Filipino should be proud of. Jose Rizal strengthened a growing national
consciousness in opposition to the Spaniards' harsh invasion and aspired to
achieve the Filipinos' democratic rights.

Primarily, Jose Rizal was a great movie. It is a film biography of our national
hero that we have only read about in history books, but which has been
brought to life in this film. Jose Rizal, the film is about heroism and
patriotism. It is an excellent exposition of the terrible history of the
Philippines and the life of Jose Rizal that is easier to comprehend than
reading a book. I believe it will assist students in learning about our
Spanish-era history. The film was supposed to be presented in 1998 to mark
the Philippines' 100th anniversary of independence — just knowing that can
help the audience feel a sense of patriotism in their hearts. The story was
amazing from a cinematic standpoint. The film was a first-rate epic that
should not be overlooked as a collector's treasure, from performance to
production. Cesar Montano, who played the lead role, practically owned the
story with his acting prowess, even though the rest of the cast did an
outstanding job in their roles. But the film's director, Marilou Diaz Abaya,
deserves credit for a job well done – she was the captain of the ship in
charge of the entire production. Every scene was beautiful. I like how
intense the scenes are, especially when Simoun's planned bombing is about
to happen. Reading the chapter in the book made it difficult for me to
envision what happened but viewing the video will allow the learner to
quickly comprehend what happened. However, no matter how nice
something is, it still has flaws. There is no such thing as perfection, and this
film is no exception. While watching the film Jose Rizal, I noticed some flaws
that I believe may affect the overall storyline. I will begin with the most
obvious thing I have noticed.

There are much too many flashbacks in this story. These memories
occasionally puzzled me, and I am not sure if the scenes are still in Spain or
in the Philippines. This is a film that I had to watch a second time after the
first to fully comprehend the flashback portions. Confusion in these
flashbacks can cause viewers to be confused and gaze at the screen.
However, because the plot takes place during Jose Rizal's dying days,
flashbacks are necessary for the film. Jose Rizal was in prison in the opening
sequence, telling his life from childhood to adulthood - the plot began here,
and then flashbacks were combined to tell the complete story of the film.
The film is quite long, and too many flashbacks can be exhausting to follow,
but it is necessary and worthwhile to see the three-hour-long film to learn
the history that reading in books can be tough.

The honorary speech given by Jose Rizal to the expatriate Filipinos in Madrid
is a lengthy moment in the film. That speech segment lasted a long time.
Every long speech we hear in political speeches, school programs,
Thanksgiving parties, birthday parties, and other events is monotonous,
especially if you cannot understand the speech in Spanish.
Another disturbing moment for me is the presence of Simoun's characters
from his work El Filibusterismo in Jose Rizal's final night. This gave me the
idea that either history had changed, or Jose Rizal had suffered from a
psychological illness. The situation is tense. Blood is shed when the
Katipunan attacked the Spaniards and Father Rodriguez who ordered the
execution of Jose Rizal. Although the result was so cinematic because it
successfully showed the intended revolutionary plot of the Filipino against
the Spaniard colony but the scene of appearing a fictitious character made
somehow a little bit weird in terms of looking for a realistic story, that in this
case it must be a real story because the movie was a biography film. But
later, I understood and justified it that Rizal's novels Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo can be told in parallel with his life story because these novels
are Jose Rizal himself. And on the other hand, it made me understand that
people can really experience hallucination during the final days or the dying
days.

Overall, I enjoyed the film and would suggest it to anyone interested in

world history. I can also recommend the film to anyone looking for a high-
quality film production. The film is excellent, but it is not suitable for children
under the age of twelve (12) due to the violence, sexual situations, and
complexity of the presentation due to editing (flashbacks), languages, and
the story's sensitivity.

Rizal, Jose Every Filipino should see the film. Jose Rizal is a Filipino, a fellow
citizen, and if Jose Rizal is a Filipino, I believe that each of us may be like
Jose Rizal because we all have Jose Rizal blood flowing through our veins.
Will there be a new Jose Rizal to emerge in our time?

Even though the film was released in 1998 with a plot set in 1898, it is still
relevant now owing to current political issues in our nation. The question is
whether there are still people like Jose Rizal who are unselfish enough to
stand up for the country. When Jose Rizal declared that our nation's youth
are its hope, it made me sad since, in today's world, people like Jose Rizal
are few. Let us begin our exploration on the streets of Manila. Out-of-school
youngsters, child labor such as sampaguita-cigarette and candy vendors,
and so-called rugby boys are all visible. Even late at night, there are still
children on the street, some of whom are having a nonsense tale gathering
till midnight, while a lesson awaits them the next day. Nowadays, values are
rare. How can we argue that our youth is our country's hope?
I wondered if the youth were Rizal's successors. I would want to hope, to
believe that there is still hope. What I see in today's kids are youth who are
uninterested in social, economic, environmental, or national issues,
preferring instead to talk about entertainment, technology, and intimate
relationships. But I still feel that each of us may be like Jose Rizal since we
all have Jose Rizal blood flowing through our veins.

We, like the characters in the film, may affect change in the world. Jose
Rizal was not elected just to serve his country, but he has done so
admirably. Because Jose Rizal lives on in every Filipino, we can do it as well.
Jose Rizal is the free and independent Luzon, Visaya, and Mindanao of the
past and present. Rizal is the same as you since we both have the same
blood that passes through our veins. We all wish to live in peace and
freedom, just like Jose Rizal. We, too, hoped for courage and decency, and
we must go further than we did yesterday. According to the film, we may
have committed a mistake because no one is flawless, but it is how we leave
the earth that will remember the most when we are gone.