Baler Movie Review

Red and yellow over white flag

One undeniable fact that makes me hesitate to watch Filipino-directed films is its poor storyline. However, Baler managed to surpass my expectation and suspended my disbelief.

The theme of the story is the classic Romeo and Juliet romantic suspenseful film – a forbidden love worsened by the presence of war. Romeo was Celso Resureccion who was a half-Spanish and half-Filipino soldier and felt madly in love with Feliza Reyes who was a young Baler native.

As a film based upon the siege of Baler at the near end of the Spanish Colonization, its cinematography is commendably despite its seemingly insufficient budget. However, the casting of the characters was evidently Filipino-like – the bankability of the actor/actress matters most. Jericho Rosales ironically looked more like a Filipino-native than Anne Curtis. Though the actor/actress portraying the character doesn’t fit with the role they must play, the reality that the film is also a business overlooks the said flaw.

               The setting was good but not that commendable. The 19^th century provincial life where almost everyone knows each other and the difficulty of hiding and keeping secrets was forgotten to be considered. Also, personality of women in the film, especially Feliza’s failed to present the conservative “Maria Clara” Filipina. She even goes out even after dark and comes home late without her parents frantically scolding at her.

               However, the dragging style of the film somehow worked for me. I really felt sympathy to the starving and desperate soldiers. If I were a Spaniard, I’d be really proud of my countrymen who were selflessly loyal to their mother land. And I was also proud of how humane Filipinos were in treating their enemies. Though they had all the reasons to instantly kill those soldiers, they gave them lots of chances just to give up and aid them in their needs.

               Also, the way the film conveyed the reality of how Filipinos value their families was effectively stressed. Though it was cheesy, the actors and actresses made me feel its genuineness. I highly commend the portrayal of Philip Salvador in this film. He was the best and most realistic character in the entirety of the movie.

               As expected from Filipino films, they were only minimal significantly unique symbolisms used in the film. Most were the obvious and not that essential at all. The white flag as a symbolism of surrender, ceasefire or defeat, the dog which was a symbolism of happiness in the smallest of things and gone in a hurtful manner, and the church as a symbolism of refuge and seclusion were all the obvious.

However, the character of Feliza could’ve been portrayed that way to defy the belief that women are weak. The character of Celso also portrays how we should not let subjectivity and emotions forget where our obligation and loyalty lies. And the ending where Feliza smiles with his son at hand symbolizes how Filipinos are brave and strong individuals, who know to stand again, fight and move on without forgetting who they owed and what lied in the past.