REAL REVIEW: Mark Meily’s BALER (2008).

History and film cannot be separate since film is the only material to re-create what happened in the past with movement and scene, audio and color in your television. Though picture of the original event paints a thousand words, book provide accurate information, film provide you of somewhat feeling of real event as if you were live on that era. Now, the Siege of Baler recreated through the hand of contemporary artist, Mark Meily. Set in Baler in1898, where the Philippine Revolution is in its height and the Spanish soldiers bare its land stand at the remote province of Tayabas. While in Manila, Aguinaldo sign a truce of peace, Celso Resurrecion (Jericho Rosales) a Spanish soldier and Feliza Reyes (Ann Curtis) a Filipina, consume their love caught in the middle of the War. Nowhere to run, the 57 Spanish soldiers, including Celso hide and trap inside the Church of Baler. Since the order of President Aguinaldo be civilized to the enemies, the revolutionist, who’s one of the leader is Feliza’s father Daniel (Philip Salvador), and his brother (

Carlo Aquino) as a sacristan in the Church also inside, they wait for a year until the Spaniards surrender. Several attempts were made to siege the Church of Baler and asked them for hostilities, which includes blockading their food supply while having festivities outside the Church. When Lope (Mark Bautista) escaped and surrendered to the rebels, Celso  unable to escaped and killed in the accused of treachery. While the film elucidating history, it also provide us beautiful seascapes and landscape of Baler. Several scenes were at the beach and forest, which also give a best cinematography to interpret the past. Viva and Bida Production re create the Church of Baler and Joel Bilbao well research costumed design, the film ended were the American flag stand in the Church. Thanks’ to Roy Iglesia’s rebelled soldiered sided screenplay, he didn’t allows what American’s written in our History, but what really happened and echoed our sentiment. Winner of 9 Metro Manila Film Festival awards including Best Picture, this film by Mark Meily is a remarkable success somewhat contrary to our present film industry, were ignorance and kilig factors are box office hits. I hope that this holiday season I can go to Baler, or maybe Ngayon, Bukas at Kailanman.