Baler: Actor and Jericho Rosales
Baler is based on a historical event: The Siege of Baler, which occurred towards the end of the Philippine Spanish War at the end of the nineteenth century where 47 Spanish soldiers took refuge in the Church and withstood the bombardment of the Filipino army.The film then portrayed the love story between Celso Resureccion (Jericho Rosales), a Half-Spanish, Half-Filipino soldier and Feliza Reyes (Anne Curtis).
The summary of the story comes from the lips of Lope (Mark Bautista): “Mahirap umibig sa panahon ng digmaan” (Love is difficult in the time of war). I loved the photography of the film. The color of the shots evoked the kind of nostalgia I felt when I watch the Jose Rizal Film by Marilou Diaz-Abaya. When I saw the creek, the mountains, the river, the greenery and the landscape, I could feel the 19th century drawing me in. Philip Salvador displayed excellent acting skills, displaying a wide range of emotion from rage to affection and from fear of separation and excitement of reunion. Rio Locsin portrayed the ever-loving mother and Carlo Aquino’s portrayal of the Sakristan whose loyalties to his family and nation conflicted with his devotion to God and to the priest.Ryan Eigenmann was pretty good for the role he was put in as the officer who succeeded the two officers who died in battle. I believe that Ryan Eigenmann is one of the most effective kontrabidas (villains) of his generation in Philippine Cinema.Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales also delivered their best in fulfilling the requirements of the storyline.The film, somehow, failed to completely suspend my disbelief and transport me to 19th century Baler. Perhaps it was the dialogues, or the production set or the speech (and accent) of the Spanish soldiers. Several times during the movie, I felt like it was a twenty-first century film set in a remote province. On the choice of actors and actresses Anne Curtis wasn’t completely right for the role. She is too “mestiza” for the role. A
The summary of the story comes from the lips of Lope (Mark Bautista): “Mahirap umibig sa panahon ng digmaan” (Love is difficult in the time of war). I loved the photography of the film. The color of the shots evoked the kind of nostalgia I felt when I watch the Jose Rizal Film by Marilou Diaz-Abaya. When I saw the creek, the mountains, the river, the greenery and the landscape, I could feel the 19th century drawing me in. Philip Salvador displayed excellent acting skills, displaying a wide range of emotion from rage to affection and from fear of separation and excitement of reunion. Rio Locsin portrayed the ever-loving mother and Carlo Aquino’s portrayal of the Sakristan whose loyalties to his family and nation conflicted with his devotion to God and to the priest.Ryan Eigenmann was pretty good for the role he was put in as the officer who succeeded the two officers who died in battle. I believe that Ryan Eigenmann is one of the most effective kontrabidas (villains) of his generation in Philippine Cinema.Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales also delivered their best in fulfilling the requirements of the storyline.The film, somehow, failed to completely suspend my disbelief and transport me to 19th century Baler. Perhaps it was the dialogues, or the production set or the speech (and accent) of the Spanish soldiers. Several times during the movie, I felt like it was a twenty-first century film set in a remote province. On the choice of actors and actresses Anne Curtis wasn’t completely right for the role. She is too “mestiza” for the role. A