Mark Meily’s war epic film, Baler, is a film based on an actual historical event in our country, “The Siege of Baler” where 57 Spanish soldiers heroically defended Baler for 337 long and gruelling days during the final moments of Spanish occupation in our country.
Its story focuses on the love of a Spanish soldier, Celso Ressureccion, and a rebel’s daughter, Feliza Reyes. This this story is somewhat inspired by the Romeo and Juliet love story which was given a twist, a love in a time of war. Furthermore, another highlight in the story is patriotism to one’s country, courage and betrayal. Daniel Reyes, father of Feliza, somehow devoted his life to the country. The Spanish soldiers on the other hand strongly defended their country even if it means to give their own life. The Filipinos, although already knew that there is a high possibility of being defeated by the powerful Spanish soldiers, showed courage to fight for their country. On the other hand, the betrayal of a friend a co-soldier caused the tragedy that had happened to Celso.
In this film, although I’m not really a fan of Filipino movies, I can still say that it is one of the best war epic films that I have watched. The extreme long shots in the film helped in giving the audience a feel like they are flashbacked through time. The combination of medium shot and the bird’s eye view shot gave a dramatic effect to the scene where Feliza and Celso met again for the first time after the commotion. The medium shot gave emphasis to the lovers’ emotions. Furthermore, the transitions of the film are really smooth. The texts in between the transitions and the voice over at the start and end of the film helped the viewers understand more about the film.
All of the characters in the story really gave a great performance. The ones who played as Spanish soldiers were really good in speaking Spanish. On the other hand, the role of Anne Curtis could have been portrayed by other actresses out there who have more “Pinay” features; she was a bit more “meztisa” than the normal young Filipina. But nonetheless, she still had a great job in portraying such role. Jericho Rosales was really convincing in his acting. Every scene, viewers could really see the emotions he was trying to show. On the other hand, Philip Salvador really gave a powerful performance. He could give any emotions, anger, love for the country, concern, etc.
On the other hand, the symbols in the film that are evident are the puppy, the white flag, the cross, and the church itself. The puppy symbolizes the love of Celso and Feliza for each other. Feliza gave the puppy as a sign of love for Cleso and said to treat the dog like their own son. In the middle part of the story, the puppy was killed by Celso’s co-soldiers. This fatality somehow became the fatality of the couple’s relationship. Next is the white flag, white as we all know symbolizes peace. In the film, the white flag somehow became an instrument to have a ceasefire or when Filipinos and Spaniards send letters or messages to each other. They also used the flag to symbolize that the Spaniards finally surrendered. On the other hand, the cross symbolizes the start of war. The scene when Capt. Enrique Fossi de las Morenas, portrayed by Baron Geisler, was getting ready, the cross fell. Lastly, the church symbolized the Spaniards. We all know that the Spaniards were the ones who influenced us in Catholic religion. The Filipino rebels bombed the church where the soldiers are. This somehow symbolized that the Filipinos want the Spaniards to leave and the courage to defend our country.
However, one of the cinematic flaws that I noticed in the film is the church. Most of the scenes were shot inside the church and one thing I noticed is that it was shot inside a studio, it wasn’t that realistic.
To sum it all up, Baler is really a great film. It’s one of the unique movies that don’t only focus on love stories but also patriotism. It also gave a glimpse to the important historical events in the country.
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