V - "History was written by those who hanged the heroes."

Having encountered the quote in the title, I think it greatly describes our country's history. When we were in elementary, we've all had our fair share of knowledge in our country's rich history. Yet, we've been led to believe the lies with our innocent minds. We've believed that our history is mainly composed of brave Filipinos that defended our country from those who are trying to destroy it. But Heneral Luna begs to differ. The film focused not just on the remarkable events in history, but unravels the smaller stories and details that were left out by those who hanged the heroes. It showed the dark side of our history, the other side we haven't known yet.

Through Heneral Luna's eye-catching cinematography, immense plot, impassioned score, and well-rounded actors, it enlightened us about our history painted with half-truths and fabricated lies. With its great success in the cinemas, the film brought forth its important message to the masses. We treated the General Antonio Luna as another courageous Filipino who died for our country. However, his story tells a different one. John Arcilla portrayed Antonio Luna not as a mere hero with imperfections, but a normal human being with flaws. He was depicted as a broken hero that defines our broken history. His life, just like our history, has been whitewashed with romanticised deeds while the ugly truths are hidden from our sight. He's a brother, a son, a lover and a great leader who will do anything for the sake of the greater good. The film depicted him as a fiercely brave and madly passionate general. But above all that, many went against him--even the president Emilio Aguinaldo. Although having denied being the one behind the murder and regretting the death of General Luna, history tells otherwise.

The Americans in the film merely served as backdrop. The film begs us to understand that the true villains are ourselves. Us Filipinos are our worst enemies. Isn't it ironic? Instead of uniting to defeat the colonizers, we are torn apart by our self-interests and our lack to resolve the country's issues. "Bayan o sarili?"  This line from the film can be a great impact when questioned to the current political figures handling our government today.

Jerrold Tarog's Heneral Luna sheds a light on everything that is wrong with our nation. It is hauntinngly intense, leaving the viewers a burning passion and will to change history. The film wants us to see everything in our country with a clearer vision without the influence of those who turned our history into a pageant of unblemished patriots, of those who hanged the heroes.