The first scene was that in a certain room, General Luna was alone with a boy named Joven,

who
wanted to write a biography about the general. He asked him to tell the story of life and the
general reminded him jokingly that the biography might become a novel.

Then, it started in the meeting between the higher officials of the government. Of course,
President Emilio Aguinaldo and the Prime Minister of the Philippines, Apolinario Mabini were
present at the assembly. However, it was not a civil conversation among the members. They
were shouting at each other, debating on wether they should be trusting the Americans or not. It
was clear to the others that the foreign country was plotting something against their country.
However, there are some people that still sided with the Americans, saying that they were
trustworthy, unlike the Spaniards. Pedro Paterno was one them. Thus, useless arguements
erupted among them again and again.
“Para kayong mga birhen na naniniwala sa pag-ibig ng isang puta.” -one of Generel Luna’s
remarkable line during the discourse.
The arrival of a messenger stopped the brawl momentarily, sending a letter to the President
which contained bad news. Yes, the inevitable happened. Some soldiers scouting in Santa Mesa
district, Manila were killed by the Americans and had terrotized other places in the Philippines
too.
After the leaders were stationed on the territories they must protect, General Luna with his
trusted comrades,Jose Alejandrino, Francisco “Paco” Roman, Eduardo Rusca, Jose Bernal, and
Manuel Bernal had a battle with the Americans in Intramuros. Their enemies were well-equiped
and trained, so they had to request reinforcements from the Kawit Brigade. But Captain Pedro
Janolino was irritated with the general’s bossy attitude so, he refused to follow his orders. Luna
was so annoyed with his lack of cooperation so, he stomped into the hut the captain was in, who
was sleeping beside a naked woman, and dragged him outside to humilliate him in front of his
soldiers. Janolino reported the general’s wicked deed to the president, but Mabini counseled
Aguinaldo to let it pass.

The country was at war, but the pathetic cabinet members were still arguing about deepening the
relationship of Americans and Filipinos. Felipe Buencamino was pressing on trusting them,
which earned him an arrest from General Luna, who was flamed by his lies. President Aguinaldo
was aware that the other members are getting fed up of the Luna’s attitude. Luna also fought
with General Mascardo because he was spewing insults at his co-general, who refused to accept
that he had a son in the war who chikened out.

After those internal battle, General Luna went to house of the love of his life to clear his mind
from pressures and stuggles. Isobel was the name of the young woman.
“Mas mahalaga ang papel natin sa digmaan kaysa sa anumang nararamdaman natin,” she stated
as a closure to her relationship with the general. She was right. She pledged that it will be their
last rendezvous and by the next time they meet again, they are stangers to each other.
When General Luna was back at his home, he played his guitar. His moment was interruped by
his mother, Doña Laureana Luna y Novicio, who had spoken with him shortyly. She reminded
him that he was bound to die if he continued fighting, but nonetheless, his will wasn’t shaken. He
could have been a doctor, but look at how destiny played with him ‘cause right now, he’s a
mighty general.
Then, General Luna was summoned by a telegram written by the President that asked him to
show up in Cabanatuan. When he arrived, he was welcomed by the silence of the place.
Stangely, there’s only a few people around. Felipe Buencamino was the only one present in the
office and he told him that the President left long ago before he arrived. When he heard a
gunshot outside, he went out in order to punish the soldier who did it. In the ambush, the general
was fired and stabbed to death.
In the ending, Felipe, Aguinaldo and Joven were explaining their sides of the story. General
Luna’s demise left a lot of questions unanswered. The end.
I think everything was difficult for him. He fought for his country, leaded many soldiers and
constructed battle strategies. At first, it was not what he really dreamed of. He was supposed to
be a doctor, saving lives of other people, but he was placed on a battlefield, risking his life to
save everyone. The most difficult part in his period of being a general is that he had to argue with
his co-Filipinos, make them follow his orders, and fight for what he think is right. Not everyone
agreed with his morals, thus earning him the title of “Heneral Artikulo Uno” because of his
strictness.
For me, the climax and ending had the most impact for me, because it made me realize how
scary power is. It is the reason why the Americans conquered us, why General Luna’s death is
still a mystery, and why peace cannot be achieved that easily. Because of power and selfishness,
it blinded us greatly from nationalism.
Actually, I’m not really a fan of history so, I don’t who General Luna is. I’ve watched other
historical movies before (while daydreaming most of the time), yet Heneral Luna was the only
movie that left a mark on me. It just saddens me that they had to remove it from the cinemas too
soon. We were even planning on rewatching it, but too bad, our schedule didn’t let us. Yes, it is
very worthy. It felt like I’ve learned more from that movie than those days in highschool spent in
learning Philippine history. I had to vent my frustration on other things because the cliffhanger
pissed the hell out of me.
My first impression on General Luna was like “This is the kind of leader that the Philippines
need right now”. I really adored him for his strength, his will to protect his country and his
persistent on his beliefs. He was positively insane, especially at the part when he charged at those
armed American soldiers, exposing himself to death. During those times, he almost gave up his
life, attempting suicide using his gun while hiding from their persuers. Yet, he continued to fight
and live, even if it had crossed his mind that it was all hopless. He have hope because it was his
country, after all.