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Goyo: The Boy General

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Wikipedia article


{{Infobox film

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| image = Goyo Ang Batang Heneral poster.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Jerrold Tarog

| producer =

| writer =

| starring =

| music = Jerrold Tarog

| cinematography = Pong Ignacio

| editing = Jerrold Tarog

| production_companies =

| released =

| runtime =

| country = Philippines

| language = Filipino

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}}

'Goyo: The Boy General' , or simply 'Goyo', is a 2018 Philippine epic war drama film starring Paulo Avelino as the titular "Boy General", Gregorio del Pilar, who died during the historic Battle of Tirad Pass in the PhilippineAmerican War. It was written, directed, edited, and scored by Jerrold Tarog, and is a sequel to the 2015 film 'Heneral Luna', which chronicled Antonio Luna's life. Additional members of the ensemble cast include Carlo Aquino, Mon Confiado, Epy Quizon, Gwen Zamora, Empress Schuck, Alvin Anson, and Rafa Siguion-Reyna. It was released on September 5, 2018.

Plot



Following the assassination of General Antonio Luna, the task of purging his loyalists in the Philippine Revolutionary Army falls on General Gregorio "Goyo" del Pilar, a young, brash general and a favorite of President Emilio Aguinaldo. During a five-month respite from combat, Goyo and his unit, including his older brother Julian and his best friend Vicente Enriquez, capture Angel Bernal, the younger brother of Luna's former aides-de-camp, Manuel and Jos. They locate Manuel hiding with merchant Don Mariano Nable Jos and torture him into joining Goyo's unit. When Manuel refuses, they kill him. Meanwhile, Joven Hernando, who now works for his uncle, is assigned to be Goyo's photographer.

While the Filipino army relaxes and the American forces prepare for a second offensive, General Jos Alejandrino, a Luna ally spared from the purge, meets Apolinario Mabini, who resigned from Aguinaldo's cabinet after the death of Luna. Mabini implores him to find out the real cause of Luna's death. Meanwhile, Aguinaldo joins Goyo in Bulacan and promotes him to Major-General of Pangasinan, while Goyo begins to court Remedios, the elusive daughter of Don Mariano. Meanwhile, Aguinaldo meets Mabini and offers him the post of Chief Justice, to which Mabini reluctantly accepts.

Alejandrino travels to Manila to negotiate with General Elwell Otis and Arthur MacArthur Jr., who reject his proposal. Soon after, hostilities resume and the Filipino side is caught off-guard. Aguinaldo orders the march of the army to Pozorrubio to meet with General Manuel Tinio and organize a fighting force. However, Tinio's defeat by the American forces Aguinaldo to retreat further north. The arduous march escorting Aguinaldo and his family through the western mountainous terrain of the Cordilleras, daily American raids and ongoing tensions between soldiers of Luna's old unit take a toll on Goyo, weakens their defenses against American forces attacking their rearguard; the Americans are also successful in capturing Aguinaldo's mother and son.

The army arrives at Mount Tirad and Goyo devises a delaying action to buy Aguinaldo and the rest of the army time to escape. Together with former Luna Sharpshooter Lieutenant Garca, fortified trenches are dug along the route of the mountain. The following day, the Americans quickly capture a town at the foot of the mountain but are initially unable to penetrate the defenses. With the aid of local guide Januario Galut, the American troops, mostly from the 33rd Volunteer Infantry Regiment under Major Peyton C. March, find the secret path leading to the top of the mountain behind the trenches and flank the Filipinos who are quickly overrun. Goyo, inspired by trauma, resolves to finish the fight, but is shot dead by an American sniper. As a result, his troops' morale breaks and the defenders quickly surrender. Joven and Garcia's son Kiko, also flee, but Joven falls off a cliff after encountering an American soldier. The Americans strip Goyo of his uniform and belongings and bury him at Mount Tirad.

Aguinaldo is captured by the Americans in Palanan, Isabela on March 23, 1901, effectively ending the war. Held as a prisoner of war in Malacaang Palace, he is visited by his former aide-de-camp Manuel Quezon, who surrenders to the Americans upon orders of his superior, General Toms Mascardo, and visits Aguinaldo to verify his capture and consults Aguinaldo whether Mascardo should surrender. Aguinaldo tells Quezon that the decision for Mascardo to surrender is up to Mascardo himself. Mabini is captured by the Americans and exiled to Guam where he pens his own narrative of the war, 'La Revolucin Filipina' ('The Philippine Revolution'). He notes Aguinaldo's failure as an ineffective leader of the Philippines. Alejandrino's position is also overrun. Remedios receives a letter from Goyo. Joven is then rescued by Kiko and Eduardo Rusca, Luna's former aide. Decades later, Quezon runs for president in 1935, while an older Eduardo and Joven give Aguinaldo a small salute.

Cast



Other members of the ensemble cast are Christopher Aronson, RK Bagatsing, Carlo Cruz, Jason Dewey, Bret Jackson, Ethan Salvador, Lorenz Martinez, Karl Medina, Stephanie Sol, and Markki Stroem.

Production



Plans for a sequel to Jerrold Tarog's 'Heneral Luna' went underway after its critical and commercial success. Tarog envisioned the sequel as being about Gregorio del Pilar, a young General who, like 'Heneral Luna's titular protagonist Antonio Luna, was among the Filipino historical figures during the PhilippineAmerican War. Accordingly, Paulo Avelino, who played Del Pilar in 'Luna', came aboard to reprise his role.

Tarog's research for 'Goyo' involved studying biographies authored by Teodoro Kalaw as well as crossing the Tirad Pass. Tarog again incorporated several prominent Filipino figures including the likes of Apolinario Mabini and Emilio Aguinaldo, aiming for a scope larger than what was present in 'Heneral Luna'. Tarog co-wrote the film's screenplay with Rody Vera, who has said he had thoroughly studied 'Luna' "to understand the flow of the conversations and other details unique to each character".

'Goyo' entered pre-production in January 2017. To prepare his scenes, Avelino underwent horseback riding lessons in March 2017. Tarog projected a 50-day film shoot, which began in May 2017. The complete ensemble cast was also revealed in a photo taken during the May shoot, including the likes of Mon Confiado as Emilio Aguinaldo, Epy Quizon as Apolinario Mabini, Benjamin Alves as Manuel L. Quezon, Leo Martinez as Pedro Paterno, and Alvin Anson as Jos Alejandrino, reprising their roles from 'Heneral Luna'. Filming was completed on November 27, 2017, lasting 60 days. The production cost for the film is said to be triple the budget of 'Luna'.

Release



On February 15, 2017, a 20-minute short film entitled 'Angelito' was exclusively released during the theatrical premiere of 'I'm Drunk, I Love You' to serve as a prelude to 'Goyo' and to intertwine both the sequel and 'Heneral Luna'. The film's teaser trailer was released on September 9, 2017. In May 2018, it was announced that the film would be released on September 5, 2018.

The film was made available on DVD on December 16, 2018. It also began streaming on Netflix starting January 26, 2019.

Reception



Critical reception

The film received praise for its acting, cinematography, music, and set design, which Zach Yonzon in Spot.PH highlighted as "some of the best in Philippine cinema". Yonzon also gave it a score of 3 out of 5, considering 'Goyo' to be "masterfully done" though somewhat preposterously made. Writing for the Philippine edition of 'Esquire', Miguel Escobar called the film captivating: "It's a slow burn through the first half, but it's never boring and always beautiful." Fred Hawson of ABS-CBN News called it "subdued but powerful" and gave a score of 9 out of 10.

Accolades



Sequel



It was reported that the sequel to 'Goyo' would be about President Manuel L. Quezon, with Benjamin Alves and TJ Trinidad set to reprise their roles as younger and older versions of Quezon respectively. However, director Jerrold Tarog's work on the sequel was postponed after Star Cinema hired him in 2018 to direct 'Darna'. Tarog has said he would proceed with writing the script for the Quezon film by the time filming for 'Darna' is completed.

See also



*'Sakay' (1993)

*'Tirad Pass: The Last Stand of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar' (1996)

*'Jos Rizal' (1998)

*'Amigo' (2010)

*'El Presidente' (2012)

*'Katipunan' (2013)

*'Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo' (2014)



References




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