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Film review on El Presidente


El Presidente







              El Presidente directed by Mark Meiley is a biographical film which tells the story of Emilio Aguinaldo from ordinary Katipunan members to the first president of the Republic of the Philippines. I just watched it recently and definitely got a good deal of knowing some historical facts. But one hundred and sixty pesos for a cinema was just worthless.

The film begins with the capture of Emilio Aguinaldo by Frederick Funston’s command and then flashes back to the scene wherein an old woman gives Aguinaldo and his childhood friend some prophecies. After so many years, Aguinaldo then became a member of Katipunan and assumes the crown of mayor in Cavite. Suddenly, there was a trouble break in Manila that Aguinaldo sent  few of his troops and then took the command of Katipunan forces in Cavite. As the troop including Aguinaldo successfully gain their ground in Cavite, he was became the president of Cavite while Mariano Trias is the vice president and Andres Bonifacio as the interior minister. Bonifacio got angry with Daniel Tirona on opposing to his position as the minister of Cavite. From this, Bonifacio decided to established his own revolutionary group. Aguinaldo who knew all this was concerned about the actions of Bonifacio so he wanted him exiled but th e Council wants execution. After a month or two, Aguinaldo leaves Cavite and headed to Biak –na-bato with his troops. From there he signed the Pact of Biak-na-bato and again departed to Hongkong. In the said country, he met some of the US officials who offered their support to the new Philippine Republic. He went back to the Philippines to declare the independence of our country from Spanish Tyranny after the so-called Spanish-American war. Felipe Agoncillo tries to represent the new Philippines to the Treaty of Paris negotiations but were being blocked even though Americans are still arriving to the country. Philippine-American war exploded on February 1899. As a result, Aguinaldo travels all over the northern Luzon to escaped from the burning eyes of the Americans. He tried to get away but then caught by Funston. By accepting the domination of Americans over the Philippines, he lives a quieter life with his wife. And then on his final days, the same woman who gave him the prophecies appears once more.

There were almost twenty five characters in the film but the main casts here were Jeorge “ER” Ejercito Estregan (Emilio Aguinaldo), Nora Aunor (Maria Aguinaldo y Agoncillo), Christopher De Leon (Gen. Antonio Luna), Cesar Montano (Andres Bonifacio), and Cristine Reyes (Hilaria Aguinaldo). One thing that my mind was taken into account was the way Jeorge Estregan limits his expressions on every scenes included in the film. The movie depicted true lives of ancient Filipinos and it will help a lot if the actor puts some pressure on every turn.

 The production made a very long sequence of events that it seemed like the story was repeating at every phase. It focused on the life of Aguinaldo and Mr. Estregan had no time to act better on every given scenes. When he was fighting, it was just like stage plays of some sort because he was lacking of recognized moves. In addition, he was too old for the role. But, the production creates a very good idea on making this biopic film. It is not everyday that we can see such kind of movie.

Never trust anybody who greeted you nice for the first time. Let them have two or three nice smiles before you consider them as allies. 

The movie was rated R 14 by the Catholic Initiative for Enlightened Movie Appreciation (CIEMA) or for 14 years old and above because it depicted war, political fights and rivalries. I recommend this movie to people who are fond of reading and watching Philippine history. This is not ideal for those who were not into facts. As final words for the movie,  it was not that good.
 I rate it for 5. The historical facts are there but making people feel the emotions count and it was missing in the film.

              Jenny-Lyn E. Acosta, is a second year Mass Communication student of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa, and an active member of Christian Church/ Music ministry. Likes to read classic and suspense novels and a seasonal blogger.
Follow her on twitter at @mycoffeebean
facebook at a.jennylyn@ymail.com
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