Dannah:

The movie cuts to the chase in the very beginning. Luna has just been butchered by Aguinaldo’s
soldiers; it’s interesting that this movie lays Luna’s death squarely on Aguinaldo’s lap, the last
one having pussyfooted on the issue. There’s a massive roundup of soldiers under Luna’s
command, including a high-ranking officer, Col. Manuel Bernal (Art Acuña), who refuses to
change his allegiance. For that he is tortured under the unfeeling eyes of Gen. del Pilar (Paulo
Avelino) but still manages to throw insults at del Pilar, accusing him of following whatever
Aguinaldo commands. He yells hauntingly at del Pilar, that he is, in effect, “not a soldier but a
dog.” As del Pilar leaves the cell, the bloodied Bernal, at the point of snapping, yaps like a loyal
dog with a humiliating bark, which would stick with the boy general and haunt him.

Gillane;

In 1899, less than six months after the start of the war, Aguinaldo’s forces suffer
setbacks and flee to the north, to Dagupan in Pangasinan. They are there for five
months, a respite that allows the film to show a more developed profile of del Pilar,
who it turns out is a sly flirt and a ladies’ man who broke many hearts in the towns they
retreated to, as evidenced in the many pained letters from the ladies.

Del Pilar as national lothario makes his real-life boy-next-door image a lot sexier, with
the local lasses in their voluminous trailing ternos fanning nervously, in near faint, with
very apparent repressed desires. Casual sex hadn’t been introduced in those days (or so
we think).

Saira;

There is one young lady that takes del Pilar’s fancy. She’s Remedios Jose (Gwen
Zamora), the daughter of a town politico, and their first encounter is a study in 19th
century Victorian courtship. As was the manner in those days, she communicates with
her eyes, aptly described in 19th-century literature as “mapungay na mata” (dreamy
eyes).

Carl:

With slightly stifled breaths they are disarmed by one another but must keep a pretense
of nonchalance. Later, over dinner, he breaks the staring duel across the table and
apologizes for the rude behavior he displayed earlier. She politely says, to paraphrase,
 that she can handle any situation. Her father cheerily chimes in about having a strong
daughter, and this is Goyo’s first warning. She’s gorgeous, but there’s going to be some
serious hoops to be gone through before she is “conquered.” Goyo, probably used to
fainting violets, has met his imperturbable match.

Dannah:

Months into the courtship, Remedios does not let up. In her self-possessed way, she
probes his past and wonders whether she’ll be conquest number 101. In a romantic and
sensual court dance in the family house, as they slowly sway, hold hands, uncouple,
approach, take in each other’s cologne and sweat tinged with yearning, she continues
with her sweet and earnest inquisition. She not only chides him for being a potential
heartbreaker who may also possess heroic delusions that will get in the way of her just
wanting a man for keeps, at her side

Del Pilar pledges fealty while Remedios must now deal with one of his exes, Felicidad
Aguinaldo (Empress Schuck) who, in a market scene with Remedios, does a tit-for-tat
with sharpened verbal claws. Remedios notes that many of the overripe mangoes may
have to be disposed. Felicidad snidely suggests that Remedios could be one of them,
warning her of Goyo’s record of dispensing with many other “mangoes.”

Oooh, this scriptwriter has an ax to grind. But Remedios is unfazed. She responds
gently back, eyebrows raised: how could Felicidad ever think such, since she’s not a
mango. Touche! Three snaps.

With Goyo’s peccadillos revealed and accepted as the masculine norm, we return to the
crucial Philippine-American war.

gillane

Apolinario Mabini (Epi Quizon), prominent in “Heneral Luna,” continues his cryptic
pronouncements on the state of the nation. He has left the Aguinaldo cabinet soon after
Luna’s death and is to the left of Aguinaldo’s growing pro-American cabal. He has
some profound, hurtful lines about his countrymen (still fitting for today’s Congress).
He calls Aguinaldo’s people a bunch of clowns. And given the behavior of a populace
 with a propensity for a good time over serious affairs, Mabini declares not once but
twice that Filipinos deserve to be called children. “Ouch,” but on target perhaps, until
we get our act together.

Saira;

Mabini has grown since the last movie, where he was at the early stage of the
Aguinaldo cabinet and very confident of its independent direction. Now, that seems
unlikely. When eventually, Aguinaldo pays him a call, goads him to return, and offers
him the position of chief justice, Mabini accepts with a heavy heart, uttering that his
acceptance is only for the country’s sake.

Meanwhile, Goyo has flashbacks of a bloodied Col. Bernal yapping and tormenting
him, literally dying of laughter. One night, in a drunken stupor in a river he thinks
blood is coming out of his mouth, that his life is over under the water. We witness a
premonition of his death and possibly, the folly of his allegiance to Aguinaldo.

Carl;

These intermittent nightmares are exacerbated by news of the Americans in Manila

playing hardball, pushing the Filipino soldiers further away from laying siege on the
Spaniards in Manila. In a meeting between Aguinaldo’s emissary, General Alejandrino
(Alvin Anson) and American Generals Elwell Otis (Edward Rocha) and Arthur
MacArthur (Miguel Faustmann), the Americans have only the mindset that the Filipinos
have a rogue president, insinuating their army is illegitimate and the fledgling republic
a sham to be vanquished.

The American forces head north to put to rout the remaining Filipino forces and capture
Aguinaldo. It is a demoralizing spectacle, a long trail of soldiers and civilians, on foot,
reaching towns friendly or otherwise, scrounging for food, moving northward and
arduously ascending the Cordillera Mountains.

The sacrifices and misery inflicted on citizens are visually articulated in this movie, with
extras in the hundreds if not thousands, multiplied ably by digital effects. As a photo-
historian, I find several instances in the movie where a scene replicates a pose
historically imprinted as a photograph, quite moving. Gen. del Pilar poses proudly,
 leaning on his sword. In another, he us seen in full military regalia astride his favorite
white horse and flanked by his men. Later stilled and embedded in an albumen print,
the scene’s authenticity galvanizes in the viewers. Del Pilar was a real historical figure,
the army he commanded was real, and their earnestness in their love for country was as
well.

Dannah;

In the mountains, Aguinaldo moves ahead to elude capture, ordering Gen. del Pilar and
60 men to be the rear guard on a mountainous pass called Tirad. Despite their ideal
vantage point, the Filipinos are outmanned, and sharpshooters of the 33rd Volunteer
Infantry manage to take deadly aim even from below at the Filipinos up on the ridge.

This last fighting scene is excruciating, and as every Filipino soldier falls dead, the
enchanting Cordillera mountains seemingly undulate in gratitude and sadness. The
sharpshooters reach the top, and Gen. del Pilar, the last to retreat, is eventually shot
dead, and his whole body stripped of his possessions and clothing. The Americans
recognize the young general’s bravery and scramble for mementoes of him.

Gillane;

Aside from the exquisite needle-point handkerchief given to him by Remedios, the
soldiers took from his bag his diary with a last entry the day before. There are several
varying accounts of this diary entry, but I rely on Marcial Lichauco’s American Conquest
of The Philippines, which cites the war correspondent Richard Henry Little’s transcript of
Gen. del Pilar’s diary.

It reads, “The general (Aguinaldo) had given me the pick of the men that could be
spared and ordered me to defend the pass. I realize what a terrible task is given to me.
And yet I feel that this is the most glorious moment of my life. What I do is done for my
beloved country. No sacrifice can be too great.”

This period movie has parallels with today’s troubling events. The American forces, the
ascending imperial power then, went land-grabbing and eventually took over the land.
Today’s new Chinese imperial power, is starting with some of our islands, and our
breath is bated as to what’s next.
Unquestioning loyalties to strongmen like Aguinaldo resulted in numerous failures and
even needless deaths. There seems to be a parallel with that and today’s strongman
Duterte.

Carl;

Mabini inflicts the unkindest cut of all, declaring us as unfit children not to be trusted.
Are we still that today, lacking political maturity and incapable of making our country a
good place for all to live? The movie is powerful and blends the right amount of
romance and levity in a serious historical narrative. It will require thinking caps for all
who want to see the best of outcomes for our country. “Goyo” soberly points us in the
right direction