History Film / HeneralLuna

* ShownTheirWork: The entire film is impressively researched, one example being the khaki uniforms Luna and Del Pilar are shown wearing by the end, replacing the more famous white pinstriped (''rayadillo'') ones copied from the Spanish army which are seen earlier.

''Heneral Luna'', released September 9, 2015, is a historical biopic film depicting General Antonio Luna (John Arcilla) and his exploits while leading the Philippine Revolutionary Army against the United States during the [[UsefulNotes/PhilippineInsurrection Philippine-American War]].

** As for the Philippine flag, GenreSavvy and knowledgeable viewers might wonder why it is displayed "correctly" in it's "peacetime" position every time it is on screen. The Philippine flag should be inverted during times of war, such as the time of the movie; this would be considered a historical innacuracy, or at least FridgeLogic, except that the one time it isn't (and brace yourself for the FridgeBrilliance): [[spoiler:is when Aguinaldo is proclaiming his innocence. So the Philippines was only ever at war with itself.]] Make of that what you will.[[note]] [[https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1998/ra_8491_1998.html RA 8491 Section 10]], which depicts how the flag should be positioned during wartime and peacetime, was drafted on February 12, 1998, a century after the events of the film, making this symbolism NewerThanTheyThink. [[/note]]

* SequelHook: General Gregorio Del Pilar is set to be TheHero of the ''[[Film/GoyoAngBatangHeneral next film]]''.

* SequelHook: General Gregorio Del Pilar is set to be TheHero of the next film.

''Heneral Luna'', released September 9, 2015, is a historical biopic film depicting General Antonio Luna (John Arcilla) and his exploits while leading the Philippine Revolutionary Army against the United States during the Philippine-American War.

* RatedMForManly: Luna's badasserry was emphasized throughout the film.

%%* Five Man Band:
%%** Heroes (''relatively speaking''):
%%*** TheLeader: Antonio Luna.
%%*** TheLancer: Paco Román. José Alejandrino sometimes plays the role.
%%*** TheSmartGuy: Eduardo Rusca, ever the guy with the [[DeadpanSnarker smartest remarks]].
%%*** TheBigGuy: The Bernal brothers.
%%*** TagalongKid: Joven Hernando. Who is technically also a [[JustForPun Tagalog Kid]].
%%** Villains (''relatively speaking''):
%%*** BigBad: Emilio Aguinaldo.
%%*** CoDragons / {{Evil Genius}}es: Felipe Buencamino and Pedro Paterno.
%%*** TheBrute: Tomás Mascardo and his men.
%%*** TheDarkChick: [[GenderFlip Apolinario Mabini.]] (In RealLife, he actually recommended Luna's removal from the Revolutionary Army due to his HotBlooded-ness.)

** For instance, it is not actually clear (and may well never be) that Aguinaldo directly wanted or was directly involved in bringing about Luna's death, beyond command responsibility for the men who ''personally'' killed him, as clear "smoking gun" evidence about this has yet to be unearthed. What is certain is only that Luna was summoned to Aguinaldo's headquarters through telegraph, but the President was missing when he arrived and he was thus alone with Felipe Buencamino and Aguinaldo's presidential bodyguards. At the very least, Aguinaldo can be taken to task for not punishing Luna's immediate killers. But the film takes the definite stance that he was complicit, and the repercussions go all the way to the sequel ''Goyo'' where another of Aguinaldo's generals, Jose Alejandrino, relentlessly prods him about the issue.

* ForeignCussWord: There are Spanish swears abound. Quite a few of which have also been assimilated into Tagalog, and later Filipino, such as "Putang-ina." [[note]] Translation: "Whoremother, i.e. Son of a Bitch"[[/note]]

** For instance, it is not actually clear (and may well never be) that Aguinaldo directly wanted or was directly involved in bringing about Luna's death, beyond command responsibility for the men who ''did'' kill him, as clear "smoking gun" evidence about this has yet to be unearthed. What is certain is only that Luna was summoned to Aguinaldo's headquarters through telegraph, but the President was missing when he arrived and he was thus alone with Felipe Buencamino and Aguinaldo's presidential bodyguards. At the very least, Aguinaldo can be taken to task for not punishing Luna's immediate killers. But the film takes the definite stance that he was complicit, and the repercussions go all the way to the sequel ''Goyo'' where another of Aguinaldo's generals, Jose Alejandrino, relentlessly prods him about the issue.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Lampshaded in the opening text, pointing out how the film is a mix of historical fact and the imaginary. Ironically, the movie is still reasonably true to history in spite of the disclaimer, especially compared to previous movies.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Lampshaded in the opening text, pointing out how the film is a mix of historical fact and the imaginary.
** Ironically, the movie is still reasonably true to history in spite of the disclaimer.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: [[MemeticMutation From the man himself:]]
--> '''Luna''': NEGOSYO O KALAYAAN? BAYAN O SARILI? '''PUMILI KA!''' [[note]]"Business or freedom? Country or self? MAKE YOUR CHOICE!"[[/note]]
* ArtisticLicenseHistory: A disclaimer at the start of the movie openly states that the film takes historical liberties with some of the RealLife events surrounding Luna and the Revolution, to suit its HistoricalFiction narrative.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Director Jerrold Tarrog has actually openly admitted that the film takes historical liberties with some of the RealLife events surrounding Luna and the Revolution.
** For instance, it is not actually clear (and may well never be) that Aguinaldo directly wanted or was ultimately involved in Luna's death, beyond command responsibility for the men who ''did'' kill him. The likelier reason the real Luna was killed was because his HairTriggerTemper and BadBoss tendencies as head of the Revolutionary Army, not to mention relative inexperience on the battlefield[[note]]yes, he did have knowledge of military strategy, but most of this from a hurried few months' worth of a crash course in Belgium, and as he joined the Revolution late—in 1898—he had almost no combat experience compared to officers under him who'd been fighting since 1896, ''longer'' even if they were Spanish-colonial military veterans who defected—yes, even under Spanish rule much of its colonial army was staffed by natives and mestizos especially in the lower ranks[[/note]] was demoralising enough of the men under his command that some were eventually pissed-off enough to take what they saw as a huge liability out of the equation.
** Ysabel, the woman portrayed as Luna's LoveInterest here, is entirely made-up, but may be based in part on the (also dubious and politically-motivated) rumour that Luna supposedly entrusted the Revolutionary treasury to a woman named Ysidra Cojuangco, which later allegedly grew into her descendants' vast wealth.

A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYK_6W_seNg sequel]] with the same cast and crew, ''[[Film/GoyoAngBatangHeneral Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral]]'' (''Goyo: The Boy General'') about Luna's contemporary General Gregorio del Pilar was released in 2018. A third film about UsefulNotes/ManuelQuezon, President of the later Philippine Commonwealth is also planned. [[SequelHook Both men appear here in small roles.]] Tarrog also did a short film, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCBRjEuSQNw Angelito]]'', which takes place in between ''Luna'' and ''Goyo''. As of 2020, the full film is officially [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYWo6FoVacY free to watch]] as well, English subtitles included.

** For instance, it is not actually clear (and may well never be) that Aguinaldo directly wanted or was ultimately involved in Luna's death, beyond command responsibility for the men who ''did'' kill him. The likelier reason the real Luna was killed was because his HairTriggerTemper and BadBoss tendencies as head of the Revolutionary Army, not to
mention relative inexperience on the battlefield[[note]]yes, he did have knowledge of military strategy, but most of this from a hurried few months' worth of a crash course in Belgium, and as he joined the Revolution late—in 1898—he had almost no combat experience compared to officers under him who'd been fighting since 1896, ''longer'' even if they were Spanish-colonial military veterans who defected—yes, even under Spanish rule much of its colonial army was staffed by natives and mestizos especially in the lower ranks[[/note]] was demoralising enough of the men under his command that some were eventually pissed-off enough to take what they saw as a huge liability out of the equation.

* LightIsGood: Mabini notably wears white, to reinforce his being the OnlySaneMan in Aguinaldo's cabinet, and the one [[IncorruptiblePurePureness who comes off the best]]. Especially highlighted in a scene with Aguinaldo and Luna's enemies, where he is the only one in the light and the rest are in shadow. In real life, Mabini was one of the first people to denounce Aguinaldo for his treatment of Bonifacio and Luna through his memoirs, written a few years later.

** For instance, it is not actually clear (and may well never be) that Aguinaldo directly wanted or was ultimately involved in Luna's death, beyond command responsibility for the men who ''did'' kill him. The likelier reason the real Luna was killed was because his HairTriggerTemper and BadBoss tendencies as head of the Revolutionary Army, not to mention relative inexperience on the battlefield[[note]]yes, he did have knowledge of military strategy, but most of this from a hurried few months' worth of a crash course in Belgium, and as he joined the Revolution late—in 1898—he had almost no combat experience compared to officers under him who'd been fighting since 1896, ''longer'' even if they were Spanish-colonial military veterans who defected—yes, even under Spanish rule much of its colonial army was staffed by natives and mestizos especially in the lower ranks[[/note]] was demoralising enough of the men under his command that some were eventually pissed-off enough to take what they saw as a huge liability out of the equation.

** For instance, it is not actually clear (and may well never be) that Aguinaldo directly wanted or was ultimately involved in Luna's death, beyond command responsibility for the men who ''did'' kill him. The likelier reason the real Luna was killed was because his HairTriggerTemper and BadBoss tendencies as head of the Revolutionary Army, not to mention relative inexperience on the battlefield[[note]]yes, he did have knowledge of military strategy, but most of this from a hurried crash course in Belgium, and as he joined the Revolution late—in 1898—he had almost no combat experience compared to officers under him who'd been fighting since 1896, ''longer'' even if they'd defected from the colonial military[[/note]] was demoralising enough of the men under his command that some were eventually pissed-off enough to take what they saw as a huge liability out of the equation.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Director Jerrold Tarrog has actually openly admitted that the film takes historical liberties with some of the actual events surrounding Luna and the Revolution. In RealLife, for instance, it is not actually clear (and may well never be) that Aguinaldo directly wanted or was ultimately involved Luna's death, beyond command responsibility for the men who ''did'' kill him. The likelier reason the real Luna was killed was because his HairTriggerTemper and BadBoss tendencies as head of the Revolutionary Army, not to mention relative inexperience on the battlefield[[note]]yes, he did have knowledge of military strategy, but most of this from a hurried crash course in Belgium, and as he joined the Revolution late—in 1898—he had almost no combat experience compared to officers under him who'd been fighting since 1896, ''longer'' even if they'd defected from the colonial military[[/note]] was demoralising enough of the men under his command that some were eventually pissed-off enough to take what they saw as a huge liability out of the equation.