BECERA, Anelyn S.

BSA-II

(Reaction Paper)

Jose Rizal to me was just an ordinary hero until I saw and heartily engaged myself in appreciating his whole movie about his life. It was then I realized that I never knew who Jose Rizal really was. The movie enlightened me and caused that once little knowledge about him to grow and bloom into a sense of being proud even more to my fellow countrymen, and especially to him, none other than, Jos Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda. A number of movie scenes impressed me a lot particularly to the messages each scene communicates. One of these is during his trial. This scene stimulated various feelings within me. When Enrique de Alcocer presented his empty logic to persecute Rizal, which did not even have any evidence but only mere accusations, this ignited my repugnance. When Taviel de Andrade, as a defense of Jose Rizal, appealed his stand, he argued by the technicality of the law, and thus the prosecutors accusations being without evidence did not prove Rizals guilt legally. And so, the accused should be restored in the name of justice instead of being the subject of the Spaniards vengeance over Filipinos as well as to the strong current of the prejudice caused by insurrection. To this statement of Taviel, added by Rizals humble and honest defense, caused me to highly esteem Jose Rizal even more. I thought that this would make the Spaniards realize their faults as the colonizer and ruler of the Philippines. But to my surprise, I was definitely wrong. It was as if pain stroked me that the courts decision, despite of Jose Rizal and Taviels great efforts to open a possibility of restoration, was indeed firm and fixed. This scene drew my feeling of sympathy for how he should end his journey and of course admiration to his amazing and honorable ways and even fury for the arrogant and conceited Spaniards. During his execution, it pains my heart to see our innocent hero being accused and executed for a crime which he never really did nor even attempted. As for the Katipunans heroic unrest after Rizals execution, it was something for me to be proud of that their nationalism-sentiment, commitment and ideology- was conceived.