Activity 9

1. 1. Provide a brief reflection about the film? What does it tell us about our national hero?

What I learned about this film there are a lot of questionable issues left by Jose Rizal. That let me
realize and appreciate Jose Rizal's background even more, given the actions he took, such as
retraction and telling Dona Trining about the object he had hidden inside the object. This film
helps us in developing our reasoning skills and expanding our understanding of why Jose Rizal
was recognized as our national hero. This reflects how Jose Rizal has transformed our country to
the present day. Furthermore, this shows how critical the little information is, since it can lead to
the bigger issue of why Jose Rizal had a retraction or the reason why he is being a victim by
Spanish rulers.

This film shows us that our national hero's life remains a mystery, specifically why he did not join
the revolt and the retraction he performed. It also reveals that our national hero, Jose Rizal,
indulged in immoral behavior in the past, such as having intercourse with an unmarried lady. At
this point, Jose Rizal is not who he really is from our expectations. But this would never change
our point of view of his contribution to our country. As the film said, he is what he is. Jose Rizal
has flaws like us who committed some unlawful acts.

In regard to retraction, this film made me understand the possibility of why Jose Rizal had signed
a retraction at his last moment. First, Jose Rizal intended to marry Josephine Bracken, but he
couldn't since he had joined Masonry. Thus, he decided to ask for his forgiveness from the priest
and began to worship as a Catholic. Secondly, he may just want to die to serve as a catholic. These
were only speculated since Jose Rizal did not state the exact reason for the retraction. However, it
is probable that the Spanish colonizer might forge the signature of Jose Rizal and do this as a way
of undermining his efforts as a national hero. Nonetheless, all of these were only speculation. But
whether he retracted it or not, Jose Rizal remains a national hero in the hearts of Filipinos. Yes, we
may never know the answer, but it's up to us how we judge his worth.