Heneral Luna is a 2015 Filipino epic war film starring John Arcilla as the titular character Antonio Luna who led the Philippine Republican Army during the early phases of the Philippine–American War. Directed by Jerrold Tarog and produced by Artikulo Uno Productions, it is the first installment of the Bayaniverse franchise. The film received critical acclaim from critics, praising its cinematography, writing, acting and plot. The film was selected as the Philippine entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.
With a production budget of , it is one of the most expensive Filipino epic historical films ever released. On September 29, 2015, it broke the previous record of to become the highest grossing Filipino historical film of all time. Despite a 50% discount that was offered to student viewers, by the beginning of its fourth week, the film was well on its way to reaching the gross ticket sales. On October 11, it was officially announced that the film had reached its break even point. The film's success spawned the sequel Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral, which focuses on General Gregorio Del Pilar during the Philippine–American War.
Plot Towards the end of the 19th century, Spanish colonial rule over the Philippines comes to an end and the country gains its independence. Unwilling to face humiliation, Spain secretly sells the archipelago to the victorious Americans for $20,000,000 during the Treaty of Paris.
At the Barasoain Church in Malolos, during a cabinet meeting over the growing American presence in the Philippines, cabinet members Felipe Buencamino and Pedro Paterno propose to form an alliance with the Americans to avoid open conflict but this angers Generals Antonio Luna and José Alejandrino, both of whom prefer to fight the new invaders. Meanwhile, President Emilio Aguinaldo attempts to negotiate with the Americans over the control of Manila, which is still under Spanish control. They eventually learn that the Spaniards and Americans have staged a battle which ended with the complete control of Manila transferred to the latter, thereby bringing the Philippines under American control. After an incident between American and Filipino soldiers in Manila, Aguinaldo starts a brutal resistance against the Americans to protect the country's independence.
Luna and his trusted officers – Colonel Francisco “Paco” Román, Captain Eduardo Rusca, and the Bernal brothers Captain José and Major Manuel – begin an arduous campaign against the Americans, only to face a number of setbacks. During a battle, Luna asks for reinforcements from the Kawit battalion but their commander Pedro Janolino refuses as the order did not come from Aguinaldo himself. Infuriated, Luna brutally humiliates and demotes Janolino. Luna then declares his infamous "Article One", which states that those refusing to follow his orders shall be executed on the spot, to put insubordinate soldiers and officers under his control while mobilizing more men for the army. In another meeting, Buencamino and Paterno propose to have the country become a protectorate under American rule in an attempt to secure peace, prompting Luna to arrest them as traitors. Luna's campaign is soon undermined by General Tomás Mascardo, who defies his orders. While the two generals prepare to clash in Pampanga, the Americans advance steadily, forcing the Filipino army to retreat up north alongside Aguinaldo. Distraught over the growing disunity within the Filipino army, Luna attempts to resign. Aguinaldo rejects Luna's request but he approves his other request to establish a headquarters in the north where they can launch a guerilla campaign against the Americans.
Not long after, Luna is summoned to the President's headquarters in Cabanatuan after receiving news that he has been given a position in the President's new cabinet. Despite suspicions from his officers, Luna goes with Rusca and Román beside him. Upon arrival, he discovers that Aguinaldo has left, with Buencamino, who has been released, the only cabinet member remaining. After a heated argument with Buencamino, Luna encounters Janolino and his men who brutally murder him. Román is also killed in his failed attempt to save his commander while a wounded Rusca surrenders. In the aftermath, most of Luna's officers are arrested while some are tortured and killed, including the Bernal brothers. Meanwhile, Aguinaldo requests Luna and Román be buried with full military honors while the killers are never arrested and tried for their crimes. Several decades after the war, Aguinaldo denies his involvement in Luna's assassination, calling him his most brilliant and capable general.
In a mid-credits scene, General Gregorio del Pilar prepares to cover Aguinaldo's retreat to the north. He inspects Luna's remaining men and orders his aide, Colonel Vicente Enríquez, to select 60 of them for the coming battle.
Cast
Historical characters John Arcilla as Gen. Antonio Luna Mon Confiado as President Emilio Aguinaldo
Members of Aguinaldo's presidential cabinet
Epy Quizon as Prime Minister Apolinario Mabini Alvin Anson as Gen. José Alejandrino Nonie Buencamino as Felipe Buencamino Sr. Leo Martinez as Pedro Paterno
Antonio Luna's general staff Joem Bascon as Col. Francisco "Paco" Román Art Acuña as Maj. Manuel Bernal Alex Medina as Capt. José Bernal Archie Alemania as Capt. Eduardo Rusca Ronnie Lazaro as Lt. Pantaleon García
Members of the "Cavite Faction" of the Philippine Republican Army
Lorenz Martinez as Gen. Tomás Mascardo Ketchup Eusebio as Capt. Pedro Janolino Anthony Falcon as Sgt. Díaz, messenger of General Mascardo
Other Philippine Republican Army personnel
Paulo Avelino as Gen. Gregorio "Goyo" del Pilar Benjamin Alves as Lt. Manuel Quezon
United States Army personnel
Miguel Faustmann as Gen. Arthur MacArthur Jr. E. A. Rocha as Maj. Gen. Elwell Otis Greg Dorris as Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt David Bianco as Maj. Peter Lorry Smith Rob Rownd as Col. Boyd
Other supporting characters
Bing Pimentel as Laureana Luna, mother of Antonio Luna Allan Paule as Juan Luna, brother of Antonio Luna Marc Abaya as young Antonio Luna Perla Bautista as Trinidad Aguinaldo, mother of Emilio Aguinaldo Dido de la Paz as Don Joaquín Luna de San Pedro y Posadas, father of Antonio Luna Junjun Quintana as José Rizal Nico Antonio as Andrés Bonifacio Jake Feraren as Procopio Bonifacio Carlo Aquino as Col. Vicente Enríquez
Fictional or composite characters Arron Villaflor as Joven Hernándo, the film's POV character, a fictional journalist interviewing Luna. Mylene Dizon as Isabel, a composite character of several of the historical Luna's love interests.
Production
Screenplay The first draft of Heneral Luna was written in 1998 by E. A. Rocha and Henry Hunt Francia, who chose to write about Antonio Luna after being hired by Cirio Santiago to write a television script for a television series in celebration of the centennial of Philippine independence. When the series failed to push through, Rocha and Francia were asked to rewrite the script as a feature-length film. The film did not go into production, however, and was shelved for seventeen years. Francia died before the film's release. Eventually, Leo Martinez convinced Rocha to submit the script to the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
Jerrold Tarog, who had separately developed an interest in making a film about Antonio Luna after reading literature about him, learned about the Rocha and Francia script, and asked if he could use it for his planned film. Tarog got permission to re-write the script, which was originally written entirely in English, and then asked fellow director Alvin Yapan to help translate it into formal Tagalog. Tarog then tweaked the script further, simplifying it, and adapting it further for the appreciation of modern audiences.
Notably, one of Tarog's later changes was to separate the Mascardo and Janolino characters, which at one point had been merged into a composite character, "Mascolino", who would have taken on characteristics of both historical characters. Tarog indicated that separating the characters would help flesh the film out further, and give it more highlights.
The characters of Paco Román and Eduardo Rusca, who were portrayed in a character triptych with Luna in the film, were written to be polar opposites. Román would be a more controlled, logical character who would help bring out a more controlled side of Luna, while Rusca would be a more passionate character who could provide moments of levity throughout the film.
In an interview on Filipino music website Radio Republic, Tarog, who has a degree in music composition from the College of Music at the University of the Philippines Diliman,2011. DVD Commentary, Confessional (2007) indicated that he approached Heneral Luna, as with all his other films, from a musical perspective. He revealed that he sometimes even did so literally - using a musical staff to lay out scenes, plotting out highs and lows, with notes corresponding scenes, and the pitch of the note corresponding to the mood.
Among Tarog's references during the rewriting of the script were Philippine National Artist Nick Joaquin's A Question of Heroes, which he used as a guide to the film's tone and in humanizing the character of the titular protagonist; and Vivencio José's The Rise and Fall of Antonio Luna, which Tarog used as the primary source on Antonio Luna's life.
Pre-production Before meeting with Rocha regarding revising the script for the film, Tarog approached mainstream producers to do the film; he was however met with skepticism and doubts over the film's marketability, as they assumed that such a historical film "will be boring" or would not appeal to a mainstream audience. Tarog expressed difficulty into convincing them otherwise, lamenting that the local film industry has been institutionalized into producing films solely for entertainment, without taking into account those that "contribute to the minds of the people".
The film was bankrolled by businessman Fernando Ortigas' film production outfit Artikulo Uno Productions, which takes its name from the Philippine–American War military directive, prominently referenced in the film. Ortigas himself makes a brief cameo in the film. Ortigas and Rocha served as co-producers of the film. Ortigas remarked that if he would have received the script for the film a week earlier than he did, he would have just junked the script because he was not in a good state of mind to work with films at that time. He comments that the script arrived "at the right time" and said he enjoyed it.
The film went through a long pre-production phase, which allowed the film's various departments to cope with the challenges of filming a period film in contemporary settings. With roughly 90% of the film needing to be shot on location, the film required extensive location shoots in the few areas in the Philippines which still matched the architecture and environment of the period.
Casting Speaking at a press conference for 2015 Quezon City International Film Festival, at the beginning of the film's fourth week, Producer and co-writer E.A. Rocha noted that no expense was to be spared in getting "only actors suited for the role" instead of big-name stars. Tarog said his experiences on watching John Arcilla's performance in Raymond Red's short film Anino and later in the feature film Metro Manila later influenced him to cast Arcilla as General Luna. Jericho Rosales also auditioned for the titular general but would be cast as Manuel L. Quezon for the upcoming third film Quezon.
Filming