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Goyo: The Boy General

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Goyo: The Boy General
Theatrical release poster
FilipinoGoyo: Ang Batang Heneral
Directed byJerrold Tarog
Written by
  • Jerrold Tarog
  • Rody Vera[1]
Produced by
  • Joe Alandy
  • Daphne O. Chiu
Starring
CinematographyPong Ignacio
Edited byJerrold Tarog
Music byJerrold Tarog
Production
companies
Release date
  • September 5, 2018 (2018-09-05)
Running time
150 minutes
CountryPhilippines
LanguageFilipino

Goyo: The Boy General[3] (Filipino: Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral), or simply Goyo,[6] is a 2018 Filipino epic war film starring Paulo Avelino as the titular "Boy General", Gregorio del Pilar, who fought and died at the Battle of Tirad Pass during the Philippine–American 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.[4] 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.[7]

Plot

[edit]

Following the assassination of General Antonio Luna,[a] Gregorio "Goyo" del Pilar, a young and brash brigadier general, has been tasked by President Emilio Aguinaldo to hunt down Luna's loyalists who have been charged with treason. One such soldier, Major Manuel Bernal, is captured at the house of Mariano Nable José in Dagupan. Bernal is tortured into rejoining the army, but defiantly refuses and insults Goyo, calling him a "dog" for his loyalty to Aguinaldo; Bernal is then executed. Aguinaldo then promotes Goyo to major general of Pangasinan. With a relative decrease in hostilities, Goyo, along with his older brother Julian, his friend Colonel Vicente Enriquez, and photographer Joven Hernando, spends the entire summer in Dagupan attending festivals and courting Remedios, Mariano's daughter.

Meanwhile, Aguinaldo approaches former prime minister Apolinario Mabini and offers him to rejoin the government as chief justice, which he reluctantly accepts (later in the film, the appointment never materialized). When Mabini asks Aguinaldo about Luna's death, he deflects the question. Elsewhere, General José Alejandrino, Luna's former ally spared from the purge, goes to Manila to negotiate with the American Generals Elwell Stephen Otis and Arthur MacArthur Jr. who both refuse to recognize the sovereignty of the First Philippine Republic unless the Filipinos surrender. The negotiations failed and the war intensifies. Unable to launch a counterattack, Aguinaldo orders the army to retreat to the Cordillera Range with Goyo commanding the vanguard. During the long and exhausting march through the mountains, the army is plagued by persistent American attacks, internal tensions from Luna's old unit, as well as hunger and disease. Goyo is further pressured when Aguinaldo's mother and son are captured.

The army arrives at Mount Tirad, where Goyo devises a delaying strategy that will give Aguinaldo and the rest of the army enough time to escape. Together with Luna's former soldiers, including former Luna Sharpshooter Lieutenant García, fortified trenches are dug on the slope overlooking the mountain pass. On December 2, American troops under Major Peyton C. March arrive. The Battle of Tirad Pass begins and the Americans are initially unable to penetrate the Filipino defenses. With help from a local guide, the Americans use a secret path to outflank the Filipinos. Having just overcome the PTSD he developed in earlier battles, a rejuvenated Goyo attempts to turn the tide of the battle but is suddenly shot dead by an American sniper. Learning of Goyo's death, the Filipinos' morale breaks down and they are easily overwhelmed. Joven and García's son Kiko flee but Joven falls off a cliff after encountering an American soldier. In the aftermath of the battle, the Americans strip Goyo's corpse for war trophies. Goyo is then buried on the site which is soon visited Vicente and Lieutenant Telesforo Carrasco, who both survived the battle, and Felicidad, Goyo's former lover and Aguinaldo's younger sister.

Two years after the battle, Aguinaldo is captured by the Americans in Palanan, effectively ending the war. Held as a prisoner of war in Malacañang Palace, Aguinaldo is visited by his former aide-de-camp Manuel L. Quezon, who has surrendered to the Americans on the orders of his commander, General Tomás Mascardo. Quezon consults Aguinaldo whether Mascardo should surrender, to which Aguinaldo replies that it is up to Mascardo to decide. Meanwhile, Mabini is also captured by the Americans and exiled to Guam where he writes down his own narrative of the war, La Revolución Filipina ('The Philippine Revolution') which notes Aguinaldo's failure as leader of the Philippines.

In a mid-credits scene, Joven is rescued by Kiko and Eduardo Rusca, Luna's former aide. Decades later, both Aguinaldo and Quezon run for president in the 1935 election, while an older Rusca and Joven give a dismayed Aguinaldo a mocking salute.

Cast

[edit]

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.[4]

Production

[edit]

Plans for a sequel to Jerrold Tarog's Heneral Luna went underway after its critical and commercial success.[14] 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 Philippine–American War. Accordingly, Paulo Avelino, who played Del Pilar in Luna, came aboard to reprise his role.[14]

Tarog's research for Goyo involved studying biographies authored by Teodoro Kalaw as well as crossing the Tirad Pass.[1] 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".[1]

Goyo entered pre-production in January 2017.[15] To prepare his scenes, Avelino underwent horseback riding lessons in March 2017.[1] Tarog projected a 50-day film shoot,[16] which began in May 2017.[17] 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 José Alejandrino, reprising their roles from Heneral Luna.[8] Filming was completed on November 27, 2017, lasting 60 days.[18] The production cost for the film is said to be triple the budget of Luna.[9]

Filipino Folk Rock Band Ben&Ben was tapped to record the theme song entitled "Susi".

Release

[edit]

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.[19] The film's teaser trailer was released on September 9, 2017.[20] In May 2018, it was announced that the film would be released on September 5, 2018.[21]

The film was made available on DVD on December 16, 2018.[22] It also began streaming on Netflix starting January 26, 2019.[23]

Since May 16, 2024, the film has been available for streaming on YouTube.[24]

Reception

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Critical reception

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The film received praise for its acting, cinematography, music, and set design,[9][25] which Zach Yonzon in Spot.PH highlighted as "some of the best in Philippine cinema".[11] Yonzon also gave it a score of 3 out of 5, considering Goyo to be "masterfully done" though somewhat preposterously made.[11] 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."[25] Fred Hawson of ABS-CBN News called it "subdued but powerful" and gave a score of 9 out of 10.[9]

Accolades

[edit]
List of accolades
Award / Film Festival Category Recipient(s) Result
2019 Entertainment Editors' Choice Awards (The EDDYS)[26]
Best Picture Goyo Nominated
Best Director Jerrold Tarrog Nominated
Best Screenplay Jerrold Tarog and Rody Vera Nominated
Best Cinematography Pong Ignacio Nominated
Best Visual Effects Blackburst, Inc. Nominated
Best Musical Scoring Jerrold Tarog Nominated
Best Production Design Roy Lachica Won
Best Editing Jerrold Tarog Nominated
Best Original Theme Song Susi by Ben&Ben Nominated

Potential sequel

[edit]

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.[27][28] However, director Jerrold Tarog's work on the sequel was postponed after Star Cinema hired him in 2018 to direct Darna. While Tarog focused on filming for Darna, producer EA Rocha stated that pre-production work on Quezon would continue.[29]

In 2021, Tarrog teased the potential script co-written with Rody Vera on Twitter, stating that it was still to be submitted for approval.[30] In early 2024, it was revealed that film was still waiting for greenlight approval. The project would later receive a “large budget production fund" support from the Film Development Council of the Philippines as part of its CreatePHFilms Funding Program Cycle 1 of 2024.[31]

Explanatory notes

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  1. ^ Depicted in Heneral Luna (2015)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d San Diego Jr., Bayani (July 11, 2017). "Goyo begins". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  2. ^ Adel, Rosette (August 5, 2018). "WATCH: Official 'Goyo' trailer out". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  3. ^ "Goyo: The Boy General now streaming". BusinessWorld. January 29, 2019. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d "Who will join Paulo Avelino in Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral?". Philippine Entertainment Portal. May 18, 2017. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  5. ^ "Meet the stars of Heneral Luna sequel Goyo". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. May 18, 2017. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  6. ^ [4][5]
  7. ^ Cabana, Ysh (February 8, 2019). "What makes a hero? Film Review: Goyo, The Boy General (2018)". The Philippine Reporter. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Dacanay, Aimee (May 18, 2017). "Meet the cast of the Paulo Avelino-starrer Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral". Spot.ph. Summit Media. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Hawson, Fred (August 31, 2018). "Movie review: Subdued but powerful 'Goyo' delivers timely message". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  10. ^ "Goyo puwede pang i-edit". Pilipino Star Ngayon. September 1, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d Yonzon, Zach (August 31, 2018). "Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral Is a Slow But Masterful Follow-Up to Heneral Luna". Spot.PH. Summit Media. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  12. ^ Gabinete, Jojo (August 31, 2018). "Millennials, Hindi Kilala Kung Sino si Goyo?" [Millennials Unaware of Who Goyo Is]. Philippine Entertainment Portal (in Filipino). Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  13. ^ Ledesma, Geoffrey. ""Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral" Post-Credits Scene Explained". Unreel.ph. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Watch: After Heneral Luna, a movie on Gregorio del Pilar is in the works, Paulo Avelino to star". Rappler. October 29, 2015. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  15. ^ "Look: Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral is in pre-production". We The Pvblic. January 16, 2017. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  16. ^ Cabato, Regine (May 11, 2017). "Bliss director hopes audiences reflect on abuse". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on May 12, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  17. ^ Tarog, Jerrold [@JerroldTarog] (July 10, 2017). "'Goyo' begins http://entertainment.inquirer.net/233852/goyo-begins … @inquirerdotnet (Technically, we've been shooting since May but okay)" (Tweet). Retrieved August 22, 2017 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Tarog, Jerrold [@JerroldTarog] (November 27, 2017). "I can honestly say that I never thought I'd experience something like that in my life. 60 shooting days over 7 months, huge sets, mountain battles through rain, sun, fog, mud. Holy crap. Immense gratitude & respect to the GOYO cast & crew. Proud of you guys. And that's a wrap!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 1, 2017 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "Gregorio del Pilar short film to hit theaters with I'm Drunk I Love You". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. February 7, 2017. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  20. ^ "WATCH: First teaser for Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral will give you goosebumps". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. September 9, 2017. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  21. ^ "'Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral' now has a release date". Rappler. May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  22. ^ "Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral". www.facebook.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  23. ^ "'Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral' comes to Netflix in January". The Philippine Star. December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  24. ^ TBA Studios (May 15, 2024). GOYO: ANG BATANG HENERAL I FULL MOVIE I Paulo Avelino I Jerrold Tarog I TBA Studios. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ a b Escobar, Miguel (August 31, 2018). "'Goyo' is a Somber Sequel That is a Spectacular Indictment of Idolatry". Esquire. Philippines. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  26. ^ "FULL LIST: Winners, Eddys Awards 2019". Rappler. July 15, 2019. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  27. ^ Deveza, Reyma (August 25, 2018). "Benjamin Alves to play Manuel L. Quezon in upcoming movie". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  28. ^ "Quezon film in 'Heneral' trilogy will be a comedy, says director". ABS-CBN News. April 9, 2020.
  29. ^ Dumaual, Miguel. "After Darna flies, Quezon film in 'Heneral Luna' series to start rolling". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  30. ^ "Jerrold Tarog's 'Quezon' film now has a finished script". ABS-CBN News. January 22, 2021.
  31. ^ Mendoza, Ralph (June 9, 2024). "'Quezon' ni Jerold Tarog, popondohan ng FDCP". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on July 13, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
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