The Life and Times of Jos

The film emphasized the fruitful life of Jose Rizal. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, an important person in the history of the Philippines and an icon that we can find in every history books in our country. We know him as the guy who dated a lot of women, he was short and not that physically attractive as others but he was more than that. Behind that minute physique of his, is a man that was full of courage and bravery. The film didn’t fail to give everyone an idea about how brave and bold Rizal was to stand for what he believed was right and what our country truly deserved. It uncovered his life from his childhood until his execution at the hands of the Spanish colonizers, who occupied Philippines for 333 years. The film also highlighted his two famous novels, ‘Noli Me Tangere’ and ‘El Filibusterismo’, and the character which Rizal immortalized- Simoun and Señor Ibarra. It also through a series of flashback showing Rizal as a genius, a writer, a doctor, an artist, a lover, a friend, a brother and a son, thus giving a rich texture of Rizal’s character.

It was through the film that I was able to fully comprehend what we’ve been discussing in the class. To watch everything that we’ve been reading for the whole semester opened my eyes and made me empathize to the Filipinos during those era. The film introduced me to the life of subjugation of the Filipino people under the rule of the Spanish friars; it showed how selfish the friars were and how far they would go just to fulfill their own self-centered plans. The movie gave me an idea about how Jose Rizal, which is just an ordinary citizen like us, helped our country acquire independence. It showed us how hard it was for them to gain the freedom that we are enjoying right now. That behind every free man at the moment is equivalent to a man that was maltreated by the Spaniards before. It was a very heroic thing to do, sacrificing your own life and not having the assurance if all your sacrifices...