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Course – Histo 11: Rizal and the Emergence of the Philippine Nation
Section – FF
Instructor – Mr. Micah Perez

National (?) Hero

Introduction
Mike de Leon's "Ang Bayaning 3​rd ​World" is a cinematic exercise in a question
that has existed since the inception of the notion of a national hero in the Philippines:
"Is Jose Rizal the right national hero for the country?" Officially, it is agreed upon that
Rizal is indeed the Philippines' national hero: near-inescapable in national
paraphernalia from his depictions on the piso, to the history books present in all
bookstores; Rizal is everywhere. This belief, however, is questioned in the film by
examining the various controversies underlying Rizal's validity as a national hero,
controversies which are not present in most literature being used to teach Filipinos
about the life and works of Rizal.
Throughout the film, the various influential people in Rizal's lifetime are
questioned about which parts of history are factual, and which parts are merely
speculation and ungrounded belief. This belief, as the filmmakers continuously test
over the course of the film, is centered around the facade of Rizal as a national hero.
Because of his status as the national hero of the Philippines, Rizal has been seen as
the perfect person: a true Filipino that is an achieved academic, dramatic with action
to the point of martyrdom, and an individual who possesses such a burning passion
for the welfare of his fellow Filipinos. Because of this image, many forget about Jose
Rizal’s humanity—his image is held on to such a high standard that even his faults
are glamorized and his sometimes awry motives defended with almost religious
fervor. Many forget that history is first and foremost a narrative, and thus, could be
very subjective, and prone to human biases. These human biases are tackled in
order to bring Rizal down from legend to historical figure, and to reveal the various
human influences in his life. With historical facts, intellectual subjectivity, and humor,
the film explores what it means for Rizal to be the national hero.
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Retraction System
It would be very challenging to provide an analysis of the film without touching
onto the issue of Rizal’s retraction, mainly because it is the central theme that
prevailed throughout the entirety of the movie. The issue of Rizal’s retraction,
ironically, is not about Rizal himself—it is about how the supposed retraction could
break the image that we have held of our national hero, and what his retraction
implies for the beliefs he had against the church that he so strongly stated in his
literary works and his main books, the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo,
have been for nothing.
In the film’s narrative, the persona of one of the filmmakers was able to have
a “interview” with Josephine Bracken. In this interview, Bracken insists that Rizal’s
primary reason for wanting to retract his statements against the Catholic Church is
because of his desire to marry her, which would only be made possible through his
retraction (39:00-43:39)1. If this was indeed true, the image of our noble hero would
be shaken. If his retraction is proven to be false and a forgery perpetrated by the
Catholic Church, then this implies that he died a hero who stood by his beliefs and
convictions, defiant until the very end. But if he did, then Padre Oba’s dialogue in the
movie holds true: “​Pagkaraan ng tatlong taon​…​Kung nalalaman namin noon na
babae lamang pala ang makapagpapabago ng iyong isip…” ​(40:50-40:55)2. Rizal
would have died a Catholic—a hero who turned his back on the beliefs that made
him heroic over one woman. Controversial and outrageous? Maybe so. But maybe
that is where the beauty of this particular film lies; in its inexplicit reiteration of Rizal’s
humanity, in pointing out his possible faults without making it seem like it is such a
bad thing. And in this case, what’s so wrong about wanting to marry Josephine
Bracken, the woman who—according to Narcisa’s persona in the film​—“[Nag-aruga
sa] aking kapatid; batid ng Diyos kung gaano kahalaga iyon kay Pepe…”
(50:25-50:30)3. In his exile, Rizal found someone to ease his loneliness—a very
human thing to feel and acknowledge.

1
​Mike de Leon, ​Ang Bayaning 3​rd​ World ​(1999; Philippines: Cinema Artists Philippines, 1999), DVD.

2
​Ibid.,1999.
3
​Ibid.,1999.
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Rizal's Family vs. Everyone

Another thing that the film was able to provide its audience is the ability to
perceive Rizal as a son and as a sibling. We oftentimes forget that Rizal’s family had
been very much involved in Rizal’s life, even after his exile to Dapitan. With this
knowledge, it is worth noting how the utilization of “interviews” and “conversations”
with these figures in Rizal’s life is something commendable, for the portrayal of these
characters as living beings provides a sort of emotional and personal aspect to the
task of verifying known information about Rizal. We are given a glimpse as to how
Rizal’s family may have viewed the situation he was subjected to. Paciano sees
Rizal as a victim of his convictions; a man so invested in his beliefs that he is willing
to die for them. But as his character stated, ​“Ang isang bansang nangangailangan ng
bayani ay hindi dapat pagbuwisan ng buhay.” (​ 31:34-31:39)4. He sees the value of
the things his brother is fighting for, but at the same time, the film was able to
suggest that he does not necessarily accept the fact that Rizal may die for them,
despite the other’s willingness to do so. Narcisa on the other hand sees Rizal as an
innocent—a victim rather than the instigator of the revolution that has caused to his
exile and persecution in the first place. Trinidad and Dona Teodora’s characters
were portrayed in a way that showed their vulnerability as people, and in a way that
emphasized their familiarity and utter certainty of their knowledge about Rizal—as
made evident by their convictions against the issues regarding Rizal’s retraction and
the scandal that surrounds the person of Josephine Bracken. In all these portrayals,
beyond the factual evidences they provide in a conversational manner is something
that is even more worth noting; how these characters provide a means by which we
can imagine Rizal’s relationship with his family, and how this further humanizes our
idea of him. Rizal’s family’s perception of him as a victim and as someone vulnerable
contradicts the general image of Rizal as a firm, unyielding, resilient hero, which just
provides for us a means to see another facet of Rizal’s true persona.

To Each His Own Rizal

Perhaps the most compelling part of the entire film are its main
characters—the two filmmakers. It is through their persona that the controversies

4
​Ibid.,1999.
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and the issues that were tackled in the movie were brought to life in the first
place—all the while being under the guise that everything they say is for the benefit
of the movie they were conceptualizing. This manner of narration within the movie
held the audience under the illusion of being part of the process that goes into
creating the film, in which the audience, too, get to delve deeper into Rizal’s life and
verify facts for themselves through the platform the filmmakers provided. The movie
in itself includes the audience in its narrative, a feat that made the film successful in
its intended purpose of making Rizal known and seen in a different light.
Furthermore, upon watching the film, one can’t help but notice how the
characters of the filmmakers keep on reiterating how impossible it actually is to put
Riza’s life into film. “​Tama ka, hindi pampelikula ang buhay ni Rizal. Masyadong
maraming gray areas, hanggang sa libro na lang siya.” (​ 1:28:38- 1:28:44)5. Not
because his life is uninteresting, but due to the fact that despite his most known
identity as a hero, he is a human being that could not be pinned down under one
interpretation. More so, the entire truth about his life would only be known to him
alone, and we are all just left to our own speculations and ideas of him.
“​Kanya-kanyang Rizal…” (​ 1:29:01)6. Will we ever know the truth about Rizal’s
retraction, his marriage to Josephine, and the validity of his signature in one
controversial document? Maybe not. But this does not change the fact that Rizal has
been hailed our national hero, and there is a reason for it, whether we want to admit
it or not.

Conclusion
In a nation so confused with their identity, the use of a national hero in
monuments, literature and paraphernalia is necessary in developing nationalism and
fostering within the people a sense of “oneness,” in terms of having a single emblem
or symbol (and in this case, that symbol is Rizal) that they all believe in. The
teaching of Rizal as a subject is required by law to instill this necessary nationalism
in the Filipinos, and the conduit of which is the image of Rizal as a hero. However,
the film reveals that not only are there several controversies underlying the belief of

5
​Ibid.,1999.
6
​Ibid.,1999.
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Rizal as a hero, but also of the validity of the beliefs about these controversies.
Ultimately, the truth about Rizal can never be known for all we are knowledgeable of
are the details that are served as facts by those who bore witness to Rizal’s time.
However, it cannot be denied that the importance of believing in his acts of heroism
for the country has become so necessary, because for as long as we can remember,
Rizal has served as the symbol of our hard-owned national freedom. The relevance
of Rizal to every Filipino then does not merely rely on Rizal himself, but rather on
what he symbolizes for our country. It may be debated time and time again whether
he is worthy to be considered as the national hero, his beliefs and his stance about
certain matters may be questioned, but every single time, a certain conclusion would
be made and propagated. Whether or not these conclusions would remain true, it is
undeniable that the Philippines needs a national hero to believe in.

Morales
183387
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Bibliography

De Leon, Mike. ​Bayaning 3rd World. ​1999; Philippines: Cinema Artists Philippines,
1999. DVD.

"The Rizal Retraction and Other Cases." National Historical Commission of the
Philippines. September 07, 2015. Accessed December 12, 2018.
http://nhcp.gov.ph/the-rizal-retraction-and-other-cases/.