Reflection about the movie <Jose Rizal>

The movie tells the life sto ry of Jose Rizal, the national h ero of the Philippines. A three -hour epic on the life and s truggles of his poe t and patrio tisms. It co vers his life from his chil dhood to his exe cuti on a t the hands of the Spanis h forces occup ying the Philippines in the late 19 th century. W e are also thrown in to the world o f Rizal's no vels (filmed in black and whi te), so we get a glimpse of how he vi ewed Filipino socie ty under the Spanish heal. The film also through a series of flashbac k showing Rizal as a genius, a write r, a docto r, an a rtist, a love r, a friend, a bro the r and a son , thus gi ving a rich tex ture of Riza ls charac te r. The movie in trodu ces us to the life of subjugation of the Filipino people under the rule of the Spanish friars from the execu tion of th ree Filipino priests in 18 72 for alleged sub version to the harsh and unequal tre atment of Filipino stu dents in the schools, this film is a stinging indictment of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. I also commend the film for its b ra very in showing the e vil tyrann y of th e Catholic Church during tha t ti me. Considering tha t the Philippines is a Catholic nation that is lik e butc hering a s acred co w b ut alas , Abaya work s her magic in depicting the suffering of the Filipinos be cause of the f riars . This is b y far the bes t Filipino movie tha t I ha ve seen so far.I would urge anyone reading this who lik es movies, to eithe r rent it o r bu y it. I particularl y lo ve the l ast scene of the film when Ri zal fell in th e ground facing the sk y, ha vin g his las t brea th loo k ing at a beautiful s unrise - a metaphor depic ting th at Rizal did not die in vain . He did no t die fo r nothing . He did not die defeate d. Rath e r he died vic torious because his de ath is the torch that ligh ts Philippine independence, tha t ignites Philippine Revolution.

March 17, 1521. Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator accidentally landed in the island of Samar. March 31, 1521. The first Catholic mass was held in Limasawa, an island in the south of Leyte. April 27, 1521. Magellan died in the hands of a chieftain, Lapu-lapu, from his strong will to invade the island of Mactan. February 13 1565. Another group of explorers headed by General Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, arrived in Cebu and insisted their claim for the island. June 3, 1571. After defeating Raja Sulayman in a battle in Bangkusay, Martin de Goiti claimed autonomy of Manila. June 24, 1571. Legazpi established Manila as the capital city with himself as Governor-General. April 14, 1617. The Spanish fleet headed by Juan Ronquillo prevented the British attempt to invade Manila in the battle of Playa-Homda. October 3, 1646. For the second time, the Spanish fleet defeated the British warship in Manila Bay. This event is commemorated in a yearly feast called " La Naval de Manila". October 5, 1762. The British fleet defeated the Spanish warship allowing the British rule the country for two years. March 17, 1764. The British surrendered the country to Spain after losing a battle during the seven-year war between them. October 31, 1829. Francisco Dagohoy, a cabeza de barangay of Bohol and the leader of the longest uprising (8 years), surrendered to the Spaniards. September 6, 1834. Manila was opened to international trade leading to a remarkable transformation of its economy. February 15, 1889. The establishment of La Solidaridad, the newspaper founded by Graciano Lopez Jaena to voice out the Filipinos cry for reforms. September 18, 1891. Jose Rizal finished his novel El Filibusterismo following the first, Noli Me Tangere. Both portrayed the struggling life of the Filipinos under the Spanish rule. July 3, 1892. Jose Rizal established La Liga Filipina, a civic movement aimed at reuniting Filipinos to act together for reforms and autonomy from the unjust administration of the Spaniards.

July 7, 1892. Jose Rizal was captured and exiled to Dapitan in Mindanao. There he served as a doctor, a scientist and a teacher to the locals. July 7, 1892. At the same day of Rizals capture, Andres Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata and Valentin Diaz established the "Katipunan", a revolutionary movement aimed to fight for freedom against Spain. August 19, 1896. The Spaniards learned the Katipunan movement that resulted to a massive capture of many Filipinos. August 23, 1896. Bonifacio and his fellow Katipuneros tore their cedulas or residence certificates while shouting "Long live the Philippines", during their preparation for battle. This was marked as the historic Cry of Balintawak. August 25, 1896. The Katipuneros headed by Bonifacio had their first encounter with the Spanish civil guards and infantrymen. Due to strong forces and large presence of the Filipino troops, both camps of the Spaniards retreated. But in the end, Filipinos lost the battle when the latter came back with large number of fighters and stronger ammunition. Setember 12, 1896. A group of revolutionaries from Cavite were executed. They are now known as teh "Trece Martires de Cavite" or the thirteen martyrs of Cavite. December 30, 1896. Jose Rizal was executed by firing squad in Bagumbayan (now called Rizal Park) after being held captive at fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila. March 22, 1897. The Katipuneros elected a new set of officers to replace the Katipunan. This was held in Tejeros, San Francisco de Malabon and was called the Tejeros Convention. Bonifacio diisolved the convention after Daniel Tirona, an associate of Emilio Aguinaldo, questioned his professional credibility as the director of the interior without a Lawyers diploma. Aguinaldos group won and considered Bonifacio and his men enemies of the revolution. May 10, 1897. Andres Bonifacio and his brother Procopio were excuted in Mt. Tala, Cavite after an unjust trial headed by General. Mariano Noriel, an associate of Emilio Aguinaldo. April 23, 1897. A new Spanish Governor named Fernando Primo de Rivera arrived in Manila for the purpose of minimizing the thriving rebellion of the Filipinos. He issued a decree to grant pardon to those who would surrender to the Spanish government. December 15, 1897. Primo de Rivera and Pedro Paterno signed the Truce of Biak-na-Bato allowing a temporary ceasefire between the Spanish and the Filipinos.

December 27, 1897. Aguinaldo and his associates voluntarily moved to Hongkong for the amount of P800,000. January 20, 1898. Periodic battles between the Filipinos and the Spaniards erupted due to mutual suspicion. General Francisco Makabulos of Tarlac established a provisional goverment. The arrest and imprisonment of suspected rebels continued and despite the Truce, the revolution persisted.