Heneral Luna is one of those rare Filipino films that's entertaining and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The film is based on the titular national hero Antonio Luna a Filipino general who believes he can turn the tide of war against in the invading Americans back then. He was also known for his temperamental yet tough love attitude towards his incompetent soldiers and political rivals.
John Arcilla was spot on to play this role, and so does Mon Confiado as the Philippine president Emilio Aguinaldo. Little is his screen time but when you see him, you see that he's calm yet you feel that there's something fishy going on with him. While we may credit him as the father of Philippine Independence and Republic, he's not without flaws. And with the execution of Andres Bonifacio associated with him and Luna, history has become not been very kind with him.
But that's history, sometimes you have to take some serious choices to make a difference, even if it's not the popular one. And both men made their own choices, as Harvey Dent once said: "Either you die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." and yes Luna died a hero and Aguinaldo and his conspirators lived with stained reputations till the end.
John Arcilla was spot on to play this role, and so does Mon Confiado as the Philippine president Emilio Aguinaldo. Little is his screen time but when you see him, you see that he's calm yet you feel that there's something fishy going on with him. While we may credit him as the father of Philippine Independence and Republic, he's not without flaws. And with the execution of Andres Bonifacio associated with him and Luna, history has become not been very kind with him.
But that's history, sometimes you have to take some serious choices to make a difference, even if it's not the popular one. And both men made their own choices, as Harvey Dent once said: "Either you die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." and yes Luna died a hero and Aguinaldo and his conspirators lived with stained reputations till the end.