For 500 years, Philippines has been under Spanish regime and Filipinos became slaves of their own

country. They were treated like animals, women were harassed sexually, giving them unequal rights in
terms of education, employments and etc. Because of these mistreatments, someone has to step up in
order to stop the harassments that Filipinos experienced from the hands of the Spanish colonists. In the
year 1954, a hero was born and later on the Spanish wouldn’t know that their supremacy over the
Philippines will come to an end.

The movie about the life, works and writings of Rizal is a great reminder for us to know the sacrifices of
Rizal, GomBurZa, the Katipunan and other people who helped them in order for the Philippines to have
independence. Rizal was portrayed by Cesar Montano, xjjdudjdjdj jxjdididi as Andres Bonifacio,
hxudhdjsj hxhhjd as Paciano, bxjdjdjf jshdhdjdjf as Simuon.

The movie has a lot of point of views; the point of view of Rizal as a child, Rizal in college, Rizal when he
was in prison and the point of view of Crisostomo Ibarra or Simuon in Rizal’s novels. This is to show how
Rizal became the person that most Filipinos looks up. The first part in the story shows how Filipinos were Commented [1]:
mistreated by the Spaniards. The situation in the novels of Jose Rizal which are Noli Me Tangere (Touch
Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed) is the same as the situation of the Philippines and
the Filipinos during Spanish governance. These novels are the first step of Dr. Jose Rizal in making a
reform against the Spaniards. After this, there are a lot of people who warned Rizal about his reform and
this includes his mother and father. But Rizal and his brother remained still and continuously make
reforms. And it comes to the point that because of his novels and was wrongly associated with the
Katipunan, he was imprisoned.

The main foundation of Rizal’s sense of justice comes from his mother who teaches him the right things
that he should do and avoid the things or the situations that will endanger him; from his brother who
awaken him from the outrageous Spaniards and told him the great deeds of GomBurZa and from the
things that he learned in his education. According to Jose Rizal, Sometimes the knowledge that we get
from the education makes us blind. It depends on what type of education you are studying. Outside the
country, Rizal realized the things that the Filipinos don’t have and that is freedom, independence, true
happiness, education, free will and many others. He thinks that it is very unfair to make the Filipinos a
slave of their own country, of their own home. Rizal holds this vision in his heart and promises to open
the eyes and hearts of the Filipinos and to save the Philippines.

This movie makes me feel sad because reading the life, works and writings of Rizal is very different from
seeing it in a movie. Watching the violence of the Spaniards to Filipinos makes me sad and I can hardly
watch it. While watching, it never crosses my mind that the harassments that I think is much more than
what I think it is. It also makes me proud to the Filipinos especially to the Katipunan, Jose Rizal and his
family because they are the main reasons why we are enjoying our life today, why we can make
decisions that we want, travel, eat what we want, love, and etc. That even though the Spanish kept on
threatening them and their family, they didn’t shatter and give up instead they remain stronger than
what they are. They are becoming more stronger because of their love for their country, for the Filipinos
and for their families.
This movie is a great instrument to rededicate the heroic deeds that our heroes have done to our
country and for the Filipinos to have independence. We must always remember the sacrifices that these
heroes have done for us.