John Peter Cyrus B.

Lim
BSBA 2-6
LIT1 GREAT BOOKS & PHIL POP CULTURE
FINAL EXAMINATION (ESSAY)

Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral

Goyo: After the initial success of its forerunner, Heneral Luna, Ang Batang Heneral was a
movie I was eager to see. I knew very little about Gregorio del Pilar's life, except from the idea
that he was a young soldier who commanded the Battle of Tirad Pass. Because of this, after
watching the film, I developed a deeper understanding of him personally, which was, in my
opinion, one of Jerrold Tarog's main goals for the story.

After Antonio Luna's tragic passing, the film began. His place in history as Emilio
Aguinaldo's favorite general, who was initially tasked with controlling Luna's supporters before
eventually leading the Philippine revolutionary troops against the Japanese, was made obvious to
me. In the film, Gregorio del Pilar, also known as Goyo, was presented as a fearless young
soldier. Many people are aware of this reality because of how Goyo was represented in
Philippine history. But what struck me was his frailty, represented by a man he and his crew
killed. This man kept popping up in Goyo's thoughts, saying things like "Tahol, Goyo, tahol!
which obviously troubled Goyo greatly. My interpretation of this is that he was under pressure to
live up to Aguinaldo's high standards while still being a model soldier. This, in my opinion, was
a smart approach by the filmmaker Jerold Tarog because heroes have historically been portrayed
as unstoppable people. We can relate to them more because we can see that they are also human
and that they struggled with the same things we do.

Another thing to consider is how the movie differs from what came before it, Heneral
Luna, in terms of style. This time, Jerold Tarog included an aspect of emotions in addition to the
course of history. He dabbled in romance, as evidenced by Goyo's romance with Remedios, but
he also took sure to capture the viewers' feelings of patriotism and the emotions that Goyo's life
should arouse. The movie may be seriously lacking in plot, though, as it seems to focus more on
ethos.

Last but not least, the performers did a fantastic job because I firmly believe that they
contribute significantly to a film's success. I believe that Paulo Avelino, in particular, did a
fantastic job of portraying Gregorio del Pilar as a charming and cunning soldier.

Overall, I thought the film was successful, though perhaps not as successfully as its
predecessor, Heneral Luna, which had a simple and straightforward plot. However, the film
deserves praise for its accurate portrayal of history, which also inspires a sense of patriotism in
its audience.