Movie Review: Bayaning Third World

Ang penikulang Bayaning Third World sa direksyon ni Mike De Leon ay isang pelikula na nagpapakita ng pagiging kritikal at hindi basta basta pagtanggap ng mga bagay na nakasanayan. Bukod sa ang Pilipinas ay kabilang sa Third World, o dun sa mga bansang nasakop ng mga kanluranin noong panahon ng merkantilismo at ngayon ay napag-iiwanan ng mga kabilang sa First World, ang ibig sabihin din ng penikulang ito, si Rizal bilang Third World ay marupok. Ito ay ipinakita ng mabasag ang figurine na nasa imahe ni Rizal. Hindi ordinaryo ang pelikulang ito. Dito ipinakita ang mga kahinaan ni Rizal at na wala siyang ipinagkaiba sa mga iba pang bayani. Hindi ito tulad ng mga ibang penikula ni Rizal na puro papuri at puro mga magagandang bagay ang ipinapakita. Dito rin kinuwestiyon ang relasyon ni Josephine Bracken at Rizal. Sinasabing napakamalas ni Josephine Bracken na nagging ka-relasyon niya si Rizal dahil naman kasi sa kung sino ang mga taong nakakahalubilo ni Rizala ay nasasama sa historya at ganun din kay Josephine Bracken na naugat pa ang kanyang pagkatao. Pati ang relasyon nila ay kinuwestiyon at pinaghihinalaan siyang espiya lamang ng mga prayle kay Rizal. Masakit ito para kay Rizal. Ano man ang katotohanan si Jopsephine Bracken lang ang may alam. Katotohanan? Sinasabi nga rin palang sinungaling daw itong si Josephine Bracken dahil sa hindi magkaktugma ang mga pahayag nitong si Josephine Bracken. Tulad na lamang ng pagsabi niya na ikinasal sila nguinit wala naman siyang mailabas na dokumento. Wala talaga siyang habol sa mga naiwan ni Rizal dahil hindi talaga sila kasal at nagsama lamang ang dalawa. Ipinapakita sa ibang pelikula na ikinasal nila ang kanilang sarili sa ilalim lamang ng puno dahil na rin ayaw silang ikasal ng simbahan dahil si Rizal ay isang Filibustero. Sa pamamagitan ng pagsasadula ng pagpunta nila Ricky Davao at Cris Villanueva sa kapanahunan ng pagkabuhay ni Rizal, naipakita ng malinaw ang mga saloobin ng mga tauhan at ang gusting ipakita ng director. May mga katatawanan din na tulad ng paggamit ng mga patalastas. Sinasabi kasing si Rizal ay ipinangalan na sa lahat ng mga pwedeng ipangalan. Nakakatawa lang ang paggawa ng patalastas na deodorant. Nagpakita din sila ng mga alternatibong pangyayari bago ang pagkamatay ni Rizal sa mga nakakatawang eksena. Naging maganda ang kabuuan ng pelikula. Naging malaman ito at edukasyonal pa rin ang dating nito. Naniniwala ako na hindi maganda na puro na lamang mga magagandang bagay ang naririnig at nalalaman kay Rizal dahil ito ang nagdudulot sa ilang mga Pilipino na sambahin siya at gawing santo. Mainam na balanse ang mga bagay na nalalaman natin tungkol sa buhay ng isang pambansang bayani dahil kahit na siya ang pambansang bayani ay simpleng tao pa rin siya. At kapag nalaman at naiintindihan natin na simpleng tao rin siya, maiisip natin na kaya rin nating gawin ang mga nagawa niya at na hindi siya mahirap abutin.

Bayaning Third World (2000)

Filed under: Movie Review Tags: bayaning 3rd world, bayaning third world, de leon, del mundo, filipino, filipino film, jose rizal,mike de leon, rizal dementedguy @ 11:14 am

Director: Mike de Leon Running time: 93 minutes Synopsis and Evaluation We are a nation fascinated with Jose Rizal not just his heroism but also his being a womanizer, his classic hair style and many more. We devour two of his greatest literary works in secondary schools. We celebrate his birth and execution dates. We have countless movies relating to Rizal and his works. We even name our streets (Rizal Avenue, Rizal Province), corporations (RCBC), schools (Rizal High School) and products after him. Theres even a religion devoted to Rizal and his works. Even the most well-known place in Laguna is Calamba (Rizals hometown), not Santa Cruz which is its capital.

Despite being subjected to countless scrutinizes by various historians, how well do we know Rizal? Is it really important to know him adequately since hes our nations symbol to our fight against four centuries of foreign colonialism?

Bayaning Third World, directed by Mike de Leon, is a mockumentary on making a film about Rizal. Lots of
questions were thrown around and dissected in this feature film that concern Rizal. Have Rizal really written and signed a retraction letter signifying his intention to turn back from his beliefs and re-join the Catholic Church? Did he marry Josephine Bracken? Did he retract so that he can marry Josephine Bracken? (There was no civil wedding back then.) These were discussed in the film by interviewing various people connected to Rizal for their points of view. Throughout the film, the filmmakers (Ricky Davao and Cris Villanueva) asked lots of questions, examined evidences, analyzed various information they have gotten from their interviews and still didnt reach a conclusion about the questions they want to clarify right from the start. The more they dug deeper, the more questions left unanswered popped up. Its one big loop that mocks the futility of digging deep down Rizals personal life, his inner feelings and motivations. Cris Villanueva always asks if its still relevant to discuss these issues a century after Rizals death. Maybe it is still relevant so that we can have a hero who will not be anymore subjected to doubts by many scholars a flawless hero so to speak to maintain Rizals legacy to our country. But what is a hero really? Is there a perfect or flawless hero? Will there ever be an unblemished hero? A long time already went by since Rizals death. A lot of things have already happened since 1896. Maybe knowing the complete story is not that important anymore. Rizal is an image of Filipino intelligence and an inspiration to the youth of today and tomorrow. Many look up to him. If the truth would tarnish everything that was built and preserved, maybe its not worth pursuing anymore. So what if he retracted his statements and beliefs? We are already influenced by Rizal in many ways positively I believe. His greatness would not be diminished by a mere renunciation since damage was already inflicted to the colonizers by his works and statements. Nothing will ever change today. On the technical aspect, this film is superior with its use of black and white (perfect for the period of time covered by the film), mock commercials and re-creations and parodies of historic events (e.g. execution of

Rizal where he run away from his executors). One interesting bit of information; the actors did not know they are filming a comedy. This was done to preserve the authenticity of their acting since not knowing that theyre filming a comedy, the actors would not force themselves trying to be funny. This strategy worked excellently for this film as spontaneity and zest were preserved throughout the film. The Final Word The final segment of the film dubbed as Kanya-Kanyang Rizal conveyed that we know Rizal in lots of different ways. Depending on who we ask, a different version of Rizal will always be told. Its like history in general, where even in the presence of various pieces of evidences there would always be some room for a historians opinion to enter his discussion. What would history become without discussions and debates? A mere collection of information regarding and records of the past. Its an endless cycle, almost futile, but not entirely useless since it encourages us to think within our own minds.