Heneral Luna (2015)

Set during the Philippine-American war, a short-tempered Filipino general faces an enemy more formidable than the American army: his own treacherous countrymen.

Director:

Jerrold Tarog

Writers:

Henry Francia, Sumaquel P. Hosalla (military history consultant)

Stars:

John Arcilla, Arron Villaflor, Mon Confiado

17 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Arcilla	...	Gen. Antonio Luna
Arron Villaflor	...	Joven Hernando
Mon Confiado	...	Emilio Aguinaldo
Bing Pimentel	...	Doña Laureana Luna
Mylene Dizon	...	Isabel
Perla Bautista	...	Doña Trinidad Aguinaldo
Lorenz Martinez	...	Gen. Tomas Mascardo
Joem Bascon	...	Col. Paco Roman
Alvin Anson	...	Gen. Jose Alejandrino
Alex Vincent Medina	...	Capt. Jose Bernal (as Alex Medina)
Arthur Acuña	...	Maj. Manuel Bernal (as Art Acuña)
Archie Alemania	...	Capt. Eduardo Rusca
Jeffrey Quizon	...	Apolinario Mabini (as Epy Quizon)
Leo Martinez	...	Pedro Paterno
Nonie Buencamino	...	Felipe Buencamino

Storyline

Set during the Philippine-American war, Heneral Luna follows the life of one of Philippine History's most brilliant soldier, General Antonio Luna, as he tries to lead his countrymen against colonial masters new and old, and to rise above their own raging disputes to fulfill the promise of the Philippine Revolution.

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Plot Keywords:

general | emilio aguinaldo character | army general | interview | philippines | 

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Taglines:

Bayan O Sarili?

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Genres:

Action | Biography | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence, some language and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was selected as the Philippine entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.

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Goofs

When General Luna and his men enter a church to pray briefly after hearing news of the American attack on Santa Mesa, several statues of the Virgin Mary can be seen near a window in the background. One of them is Our Lady of Fátima; the Fátima Apparitions occurred in 1917, almost two decades after the film's time period.

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Crazy Credits

In a post-credits sequence, General Gregorio del Pilar (Paulo Avelino) is told there are not enough men left. He tells his aide to choose 60--the number of men he had with him when he tried to defend Aguinaldo's retreat from American soldiers at the Battle of Tirad Pass. The scene hints that Del Pilar will be the focus of the next film in a rumoured historical film trilogy by director Jerrold Tarog.

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Connections

Spin-off Angelito (2017)

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Soundtracks

Gnossienne No. 2
Composed by Erik Satie
Sequenced/performed by Jerrold Tarog

User Reviews

Hot-Headed Heroics!

"Heneral Luna" tells us a more detailed account of the life of one of the revolutionary heroes we learn about in school, yet know practically nothing about -- Gen. Antonio Luna. Practically all we know about him is that he had a very bad temper which gained him a lot of enemies, eventually leading to his assassination. Aside from telling us specific situations where this legendary temper flared up, we also get to meet him more intimately as a leader, a soldier, as a son and as a man.

Even from his intense penetrating gaze and formidable mustache in the poster alone, you already know John Arcilla will be excellent in this film. His comic timing was impeccable. It was a most vibrant performance of a most vivid man, making him really loom larger than life. He was over-the-top in his explosiveness, just the way Tarog wanted him to be. The way he was built up, we were ready for that climactic assassination scene, however outrageous the savagery.

Mon Confiado was a picture of ironic calm as President Emilio Aguinaldo. The more movies we watch about the revolution certainly brings up more and more questions about the controversial Aguinaldo. Nonie Buencamino was so slimy as his treacherous surname-sake Felipe Buencamino. That nonchalant look on Lorenz Martinez face was so hateful as he essayed the role of the equally haughty Gen. Tomas Mascardo.

It was also such a casting risk and surprise to put known comedians in such key roles, like Epy Quizon as Apolinario Mabini, Leo Martinez as Pedro Paterno and Ketchup Eusebio as the vengeful Capt. Pedro Janolino. I must admit their presence can be distracting in certain dramatic moments, particularly Eusebio. Or maybe that was their purpose -- to balance out the severe seriousness of those scenes.

You immediately upfront that the filmmakers were aiming high for this film. The initial introductory texts were written in English, signifying intentions for this film to make the rounds of foreign film festivals. (I read that there were even certain reels with English subtitles shown in some more upscale cinemas.) The presence of disclaimers stating that this is a work of fiction inspired by fact could somehow raise an uneasy question as to how much fiction was in there mixed among the facts.

This film will also grab you with its gorgeous cinematography. The images on the big screen had such vivid colors and innovative camera angles. The period production design and the costume design were meticulous in detail. During a beautifully-edited flashback sequence, there was a stylized scene about Rizal's execution that was so uniquely and hauntingly rendered. There are most gruesome and graphic special effects showing the violent brutality of warfare which will shock you.

The historical storytelling was very clear, exciting and engaging from beginning to end, with a fresh graphic novel feel to it. Humor was such an unexpected yet integral element of the script, from those crisp off- color expletives of Luna to those sarcastic side comments of Lt. Rusca (Archie Alemania) and many more in between of different shades. The patriotic sentiments were very poetically-written, but the way they were delivered here felt sincere. They did not sound preachy or cheesy, like when such lines were mouthed by Robin Padilla in "Bonifacio" or Jeorge E.R. Ejército in "El Presidente".

Just like a Marvel film, there was an extra scene in the middle of the closing credits, suggesting a next film featuring Paulo Avelino as Gen. Gregorio del Pilar. There was also a brief cameo appearance of Benjamin Alves as a young Manuel L. Quezon, hinting at a possible trilogy. This is a very exciting plan indeed which we all hope will materialize given the success of "Heneral Luna".

I hear this is also under consideration of being submitted for Oscar consideration, and I support that campaign. The screening I caught today was a full-house despite being 1:30 in the afternoon on a weekday. It was really gratifying to see a quality Filipino film have commercial success even if it was not an inane comedy or "kilig" teen flick with box-office stars in the cast.

Kudos to Artikulo Uno Productions and director-film editor-musical scorer Jerrold Tarog for coming up with what may just be the best, certainly the most audacious, Filipino film released this year to date. Like Gen. Luna, this film leads a mad charge on horseback with a raised fist against Filipinos who say they love their country yet look out for their personal interests first. Let's hope this strong message hits its targets. 9/10.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Website

Country:

Philippines

Language:

Filipino Tagalog English Spanish

Release Date:

30 October 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Генерал Луна

Filming Locations:

Magdalena, Laguna, Philippines

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,485, 1 November 2015

Gross USA:

$206,040

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,625,639

Company Credits

Production Co:

TBA Studios, Artikulo Uno Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1