The next argument in the movie was the study about the retraction document. It is claimed that the letter was impossibly written in Dapitan since the date of the letter was December 29, 1896 in Manila. Meaning, there was no agreement that had happened on Dapitan for Rizal to marry Josephine. The next person that was confronted was Narcisa. The Filmmaker #2 and Narcisa talked about the revolution that the Katipunan was planning. According to Narcisa, Rizal was just a victim of the revolution since his name was used as a password of the Katipunan. The next scene was an encounter with Trining. She believed that there was no retraction that had made by Rizal unless the Jesuits who were accountable on this could show a proof of the retraction paper. In 1949, Trining claimed that Josephine and Jose Rizal married and so he retracted based on the document that was found in 1932 by a priest. The last interview was done by Filmmaker #1 and had encounter with Fr. Balaguer, the one accountable for what really happened on the last night of Rizal—December 29, 1896. He claimed that Rizal retracted and he even confessed so many times. Rizal even requested for a mass and he was married to Josephine Bracken. The succeeding scenes were confrontations to Josephine Bracken and even to Jose Rizal. At the end, there are so many speculations and gray areas in the life of Jose Rizal. There are so many questions that only him can answer. The two filmmakers decided not to pursue with the film they’re making and the life of Rizal will just remain in the books.
VII. Thesis and Anti-thesis
· Rizal’s Gender
o Positive: According to Filmmaker #1, Rizal had a relationship with Josephine Bracken in Dapitan just because he was stimulated by Josephine’s physical characteristics. He even wondered if they had sex already
o Negative: On the other hand, Filmmaker #2 wondered if Rizal was a gay.
· Rizal’s Retraction Controversy
o Positive: Rizal retracted the night before he was executed. According to Fr. Balaguer, Rizal even confessed many times and requested for a mass. On the 18th of May in 1935, thirty nine years from the afternoon Jose Rizal was executed via firing squad, the first text of Rizal’s said retraction has discovered from the retraction documents of Filipinos during the Spanish reign in the Philippines.
o Negative: According to the argument presented in the movie, the said retraction letter of Rizal was not true. Some said that the priest just prepared the text of the letter and let Rizal sign it. Some people say that the signature of Rizal was fake. It can be plagiarized. There’s no retraction at all.
· Rizal’s Marriage to Josephine Bracken
o Positive: According to the confrontation that the filmmakers had with Josephine Bracken, Rizal married her the morning before his execution in the afternoon. She said that Rizal retracted and followed the requests of the priest for them to be married.
o Negative: People did not believe on Josephine’s claim since she did not have some proof about the marriage. She was not able to present a marriage contract. Some claimed that Rizal and Josephine just lived together and had a child, but unfortunately died.
· Church involvement in the Retraction Controversy
o Positive: According to Filmmaker #1, the retraction document was initiated by the Church together with Josephine Bracken and Fr. Balaguer. He said this since during Rizal’s time, the Government is the Church and vice versa.
o Negative: On the other hand, according to Filmmaker #2, Rizal was a convicted political criminal in the eyes of the Government. During the time of Rizal, they claimed that Rizal was the one who headed the revolution against the Government, therefore, he concluded that the revolution against the Church was separated than that of the Government.
· Rizal’s being firm on his belief of going against the Church until the moment he was going to be executed.
o Positive: Rizal confessed and prayed before he died. He even wore a rosary on his right hand.
o Negative: He stood firm on his decision and belief to die being against the Church. He ignored the cross being shown to him in front of his face.
VIII. Critiquing
· Technical Aspect
This deals with the music, lighting and camera perspectives used in the movie. These are the people behind the technical aspect of the movie: Roy Lachica – Production Designer, Ding Achacoso – Photography Director, Lorrie Ilustre – Music (Based on the Musical Compositions of Lorenzo S. Ilustre), Armando Jarlego – Editor, and Noel Cruz Bruan/ Raffy Baladjay Jr. – Supervising Sound Editors. The technical aspect of the movie was great. The lighting and sound gave an intense effect on the scenes. It clearly showed the mood and tone of the movie. The camera angles were also done great. Good focuses on characters’ faces and reactions were clearly presented.
· Literary Aspect
This deals with the script of the characters and the details and facts they had presented. The people who were responsible in this aspect were: Mike De Leon – Director, Producer, Co- Writer, Clodualdo Del Mundo Jr. – Co-Writer and Ambeth R. Ocampo – Historical Consultant. The script used was very powerful in a sense that the doubts and questions that the viewers may possibly pondered upon on are also showed in the movie. The throwing of the lines is very clear. Intense scenes!
· Moral Aspect
This deals with the the quality of goodness or badness of human acts. It is also the rightness or wrongness of human acts as they conform or do not conform to standards. Based on the scenes shown in the movie, the scenarios are morally right and do not present anything that is wrong in the standard of human nature.
· Social Aspect
Socially, the movie presented many social issues affecting the opinions and critiques of many people including historians. The impact of the movie is somehow worth-wondering. People can critically discern if Rizal was really worth the title of becoming the National Hero.
· Political Aspect
From the movie itself, there is really the presence of politics wherein during the time of Rizal, the Government is the Church and vice versa. And now, it can be easily distinguished if what’s political status is far better—the past or the present.
Bayaning Third World Movie Review
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