Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral | Movie Review

Photo taken from Google Images

Hello!

The first movie that I watched and finished this year was “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral”. This movie came out in 2018 and is the sequel to “Heneral Luna”. This movie had been on my list of movies to watch since it came out but it took me a while to watch it because of the mixed reviews from the people around me and what I’ve read online. But I finally made up my mind and decided to watch it earlier this year.

So the movie was set after the assassination of General Antonio Luna until the Battle of Tirad Pass. It follows the life of General Gregorio del Pilar during that time.

After watching the movie, I’m not sure if I’m biased, but I prefer the movie “Heneral Luna”. But I’m not sure if this was also affected by the different mediums where I watched the movies. I watched “Heneral Luna” in the cinema while I watched this movie on Netflix using my laptop. So definitely, the mood while watching is different.

Also, in this movie, the romance between Goyo and Remedios was what kept my attention. Then there were parts where the movie lost my interest but I just pushed on because I wanted to finish it.

I also wanted to point out how they were able to kind of show how traumatized Goyo is from a previous battle. They were able to incorporate his PTSD through imagery really well. This was something that stood out to me because those scenes really gave a glimpse into what probably went on in his mind. It was also a good way to show how this brave, young General was also a vulnerable young man.

There was also a part in the film where Joven realized or mentions that Goyo was just a few years older than him. And I think it also makes the viewers feel sympathy for Goyo because at the end of the day, even if he had his faults, you kind of feel for him because he’s just a young man who was given this big responsibility of leading his fellow soldiers in trying to fight against the new colonizers.

So all in all, I think that the movie is good it just so happens that it didn’t have as much dramatic or highly emotional scenes as I hoped for coming from the first film. But then again, we’re following the life of a different person who has a different personality and life story than the main character of the first film.

I still recommend this movie because I think it’s a good way to learn more about the Philippines’ history while getting to know more about the people whose names and stories we read about in our history books.

That’s all for now, bye!