‘Jose Rizal’ at the Shrine

Blockbuster epic debuts in Los Angeles at The Shrine Auditorium

Even after the 1998 Philippine Centennial Celebrations have tapered off, the Filipino-American communities have remained eager to learn more about Philippine history. More and more Filipinos are recognizing the need to know about their glorious past.

GMA Network Films Inc has ventured into a multi-million dollar film project that meets this need. The result is the critically acclaimed “Jose Rizal”.

This film is the biggest blockbuster movie in the history of the Philippines, a movie of heavy cultural and historical significance. For the producers Butch Jimenez and Jimmy Duavit, this movie proved to be the biggest challenge for both of them.

"It is a gift of GMA to the Filipino people in celebration of the Centennial of our Independence," Jimenez says, and from what many have seen so far, it is a priceless gift the future generations will enjoy as well as learn from.

This movie will be shown in Los Angeles on Saturday, July 10, 1999 at the Shrine Auditorium.

Apparently, Jose Rizal was more than a patriot. He was an exceptional novelist, a poet and a painter, a linguist, a physician, an ophthalmologic surgeon and educator, engineer and theologian, a naturalist and an economist as well as an ethnologist. He excelled in almost every academic field imaginable in that era. Aside from this, he was also an athlete, a swift swordsman and a sharp marksman. Rizal represents most of what is humanly best for all of us. This is why Filipinos all over the world have been impatiently anticipating the showing of his biographical movie.

Not surprisingly, this movie swept 17 of the 18 awards at the 1998 Metro Manila Film Festival. Recently lauded at the 49th Berlin Film Festival, the movie has won critical recognition from International Film Institutions and was shown alongside the best and the brightest of the global film world. The movie has undoubtedly been tagged as one of the finest films ever produced by Philippine Cinema.

The film “Jose Rizal” explores the complex universe of the novelist's creative mind. In prison, as he awaits death, he sums up his life (both real, as well as imagined) — the people whom he loved as well as those he created in his novels, and the entire body of his literary and civic works — and agonizes about the final judgement of his worth as a human being, and as an artist. The movie takes us into a montage of this great man's life and times that led up to his heroic death.

The fascinating tour into the mind and heart of a genius is truly an enriching experience. And to witness it captured on film is a definite must-see. “Jose Rizal” is indeed the most spectacular and controversial Philippine Movie made to date.

With Cesar Montano and Joel Torre leading the impressive list of cast members, there is truly no doubt that this Marilou Diaz-Abaya masterpiece will move every viewer that has the privilege of watching it.

Montano is the perfect Rizal. He is convincing in his role and is able to do justice to the national hero. Torre, as Crisostomo Ibarra, delivers a sterling performance that leaves you intrigued and beguiled by his character just as Rizal envisioned Ibarra in his novels. Other artists include Gloria Diaz playing Doña Teodora, Gardo Verzosa as Andres Bonifacio, Chin Chin Gutierrez as Josephine Bracken, Jaime Fabregas as Rizal's lawyer Luis Taviel de Andrade, famed director Peque Gallaga plays the bishop, Pen Medina is Paciano Rizal, Monique Wilson is the fictional Maria Clara and dusky beauty Mickey Ferriols is the lovelorn Leonor Rivera.

The London-trained Marilou Diaz-Abaya made sure that only the highest quality equipment was used for filming. Computer graphic effects were used to re-create buildings that are no longer in existence. The production design is impeccable and will definitely transport the audience into that era. Backed up by precise research, the setting is historically accurate and at the same time, entertaining. With a cast delivering stirring performances amidst a backdrop that is exquisite, this movie is indeed an excellent orchestration of all these factors. And adding a final dimension, rousing musical scoring is there to complete the astounding effect.

Sponsored by CC Forteza and Associates, a Filipino-owned architectural company, recognizes that there has been a great need for the Filipino-Americans to seek out roots and learn about the great struggle for independence their country had to go through.

“One of our main intentions is to reach the younger Filipino-American generation and to educate them more about our rich history. With this in mind, we have been meeting with different Filipino organizations from all the different universities and colleges all over Los Angeles County to promote ‘Jose Rizal.’ We are hoping that somehow, Jose Rizal can be each and every young Filipino-American's role model,” said Carlos Forteza, organizer of the screening in Los Angeles.

“This project is also part of our desire to showcase the elegant talent of the Filipino artists. We've always believed that promoting artistry and culture is a step towards achieving global unity and peace,” he added

The Shrine Auditorium, famous for housing the most prominent awards ceremonies — such as Academy Awards, the Emmys, and Grammy Awards — in the country, has been chosen as the venue for this event. Schindler's List, Evita, and Ghandi were among the few epic films that were premiered at this great theater, an appropriate venue for the screening of this exemplary work of art. “Jose Rizal,” a film as spectacular, controversial and grandly elegant as the man himself, is a film that every Filipino must see.

For those who missed the first screening at the Pantages Theater, this screening at the Shrine Auditorium will be shown in full screen and Dolby SR Sound. CCForteza and Associates are ensuring the quality of this film and will be using the "creme de la creme" in the post-production industry.

For ticket information, call (310) 478-7222 or email at JRizal@iname.com. You can also check out the film’s website at http://www.JRizal.com.

SYNOPSIS

JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896), Philippine nationalist and martyr, pride of the Malayan race, was a versatile genius. He was a poet and patriot, novelist, painter, sculptor, linguist, physician, ophthalmic surgeon, educator, ethnologist, naturalist, economist, engineer, and theologian. He was an expert swordsman and a good shot. Having studied and traveled extensively in Europe, America and Asia, he mastered 22 languages including Latin, Spanish, German, English, French, Chinese, Japanese, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Russian, Tagalog, and other native dialects. The contemporary of Tagore and Sun Yatsen, and the forerunner of Gandhi, he died before a Spanish firing squad, aged 35, for rebellion and sedition, and for inciting the Philippine Revolution of 1896-98, the earliest uprising against a colonial power in Asia.

In the hope of securing political and social reforms for his country and at the same time educate his countrymen, Rizal wrote and published , while in Europe, two novels. In March 1887, his daring book, "Noli Me Tangere” (The Social Cancer), a satirical novel exposing the arrogance and despotism of the Spanish government and Spanish clergy, was published in Berlin; on September 1891, "El Filibusterismo" (The Reign of Greed), his second novel and a sequel to “Noli Me Tangere” and more revolutionary than the latter, was printed in Ghent, Belgium.

Because of his fearless exposes of the injustices committed by the civil and clerical officials, Rizal provoked the animosity of those in power. This led himself, his relatives and countrymen into trouble with the Spanish officials of the country. As a consequence, he and those who had contacts with him, were shadowed; the authorities found fault and even fabricated charges to imprison him at the Fort Santiago in Manila and, after a mock trial, execute him at Bagumbayan Field on December 30, 1896.

Following his martyrdom was the bloody revolution, which culminated in the declaration of Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898. Eight years later, the Berlin Anthropological Society met to honor Rizal in death, in a meeting, wherein his “Mi Ultimo Adios” was read in German translation. The Spanish philosopher Unamuno described Rizal as the Tagalog Christ, and his life, while dedicated to his people, remains universally relevant in mankind's continuing struggle for human dignity and equality.

The film “Jose Rizal” explores the complex universe of the novelist's creative mind. In prison, as he awaits death, he sums up his life (both real, as well as imagined) — the people whom he loved as well as those he created in his novels, and the entire body of his literary and civic works — and agonizes about the final judgement of his worth as a human being, and as an artist.

"Jose Rizal" is the most spectacular and controversial Philippine film epic made to date. It was released in Manila, in June 1998, the Centennial of Philippine Independence.