History YMMV / HeneralLuna

** Are the invading Americans right all along from the very beginning about Filipinos?

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: A historical war film about one of the Philippine national heroes can be very interesting except it's an indie production, the lead actor, John Arcilla, is someone who played supporting and minor roles in television and there are only a few mainstream actors in the cast. Likewise, some including Arcilla believed that the film was doomed to flop until word of mouth via social media made more people watch it, leading to extended theatrical runs by popular demand. If anything, patriotic fervour served to drive up hype and helped spread the word about the film in a film industry that experienced a glut of cookie-cutter comedy-dramas and romcoms.

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: A historical war film about one of the Philippine national heroes can be very interesting except it's an indie production, the lead actor, John Arcilla, is someone who played supporting and minor roles in television and there are only a few mainstream actors in the cast. Likewise, some including Arcilla believed that the film was doomed to flop until word of mouth via social media made more people watch it, leading to extended theatrical runs by popular demand.

* NotHisSled: Jose Rizal has a brief role and is strangely clean-shaven, though he is nearly always depicted with a moustache.
* TheScrappy: Like the real-life person, Emilio Aguinaldo is the most reviled character by fans as the alleged mastermind behind the murders of Andres Bonifacio and Antonio Luna.

* TheScrappy: Like the real-life person, Emilio Aguinaldo is the most reviled character by fans as the alleged mastermind behind the murders of Andres Bonifacio and Antonio Luna.
* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Though one may argue that the movie in {{Anvilicious}} to Philippine society and politics but this is done in the positive way since the anvils are so heavy that it need to be dropped into the Filipinos' heads just to prove the points. God knows how long would those anvils stay considering that Filipinos tend to forget, thus HistoryRepeats:
** Fighting among yourselves will not benefit the country or the people that you're fighting to protect in a midst of a war or crisis because in the end, you'll lose and drag everyone down with it. In fact, a lot of columnists and bloggers encourage the upcoming presidential candidates and other political candidates for 2016 elections to watch the film.
** Philippine history is very important and it's not just for passing it as a school requirement but to learn from it in order to prevent [[HistoryRepeats history from repeating itself]]. And it all started when younger viewers are wondering about Apolinario Mabini who never stood up from his chair without knowing that he's paraplegic in RealLife. This made a lot of people question how History subjects are taught in schools.

* MisaimedFandom: The film's portrayal of Antonio Luna as a potty-mouthed hothead yet a brave, patriotic and strong-willed leader was likened to controversial presidential candidate UsefulNotes/RodrigoDuterte by his [[CultOfPersonality enthusiastic supporters]] during the election campaign in 2016, a year after the film, which Duterte won. Director Jerrold Tayog balked at this interpretation since he was trying to humanize "strongmen" and "idols", with the message that blindly following and venerating them is a ''bad thing''. This theme is continued in ''Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral'', as well as in ''Angelito'', a short film bridging the two.

** One scene has Aguinaldo talking to his elderly mother. Later, right after Luna is murdered, an old woman (whose face is too far to be seen clearly) looks out of a window and says "'''Nagalaw pa ba iyan?''" ("Is he [it] still moving?") Though the film doesn't make it explicit, historical accounts claim the old woman ''was'' Aguinaldo's mother.

** One of the American generals fighting against the Filipinos is General Arthur [=MacArthur=], the father of General UsefulNotes/DouglasMacArthur. The younger General [=MacArthur=] is still beloved by Filipinos to this day for his supportive role in the country's Commonwealth and World War II years.

** The fact that the General Arthur [=MacArthur=] fighting against the Filipinos is the father of General UsefulNotes/DouglasMacArthur, who is still beloved by Filipinos to this day for his supportive role in the country's Commonwealth and World War II years.

** One scene has Aguinaldo talking to his elderly mother. Later, right after Luna is murdered, an old woman (whose face is too far to be seen clearly) looks out of a window and says "'''Nagalaw pa ba iyan?''" ("Is he [it] still moving?") Though the film doesn't make it explicit, historical accounts claim the old woman was Aguinaldo's mother.

* MisaimedFandom: The film's portrayal of Antonio Luna as a potty-mouthed hothead yet a brave, patriotic and strong-willed leader was likened to controversial presidential candidate UsefulNotes/RodrigoDuterte by his enthusiastic supporters during the election campaign in 2016, a year after the film, which Duterte won. Director Jerrold Tayog balked at this interpretation since he was trying to humanize "strongmen" and "idols", with the message that blindly following and venerating them is a ''bad thing''. This theme is continued in ''Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral'', as well as in ''Angelito'', a short film bridging the two.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Several in both the film and history itself.
** Is General Luna the only competent general that everyone should take orders from (Aguinaldo notes that he is the only one who has formally studied military science) or is he a hot-headed officer who creates further division in an army that already lacks unity? Is he the solution to the problem or part of the problem? (Or both.)
** Is Aguinaldo the manipulative, self-serving figure he comes across as or is he just manipulated or stymied doing what he thinks is best for his country? (Or both.)

** Was Gregorio del Pilar directly responsible for the fate of the Bernal brothers? Or was he forced to obey orders from the higher-ups? (Or both?)
** Were Buencamino and Paterno [[DirtyCoward cowards]] thinking entirely for themselves or were they trying to stop the war with Americans from getting out of hand while at the same time trying to save what's left of the Philippine economy? (Or both?)
* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: A historical war film about one of the Philippine national heroes can be very interesting except it's an indie production, the lead actor, John Arcilla, is someone who played supporting and minor roles in television and there are only a few mainstream actors in the cast. Likewise, some including Arcilla believed that the film is doomed to flop until word of mouth via social media made a lot of people watched it and reignited the sense of nationalism during these times.

* MainstreamObscurity: Every Filipino may have an idea on who Antonio Luna is and the key figures involved in the Philippine-American War. But it's more surprising that there's a lot of people, particularly the younger viewers, who had little grasp on the basic facts of these key figures which are exactly taught in school. The fact about Apolinario Mabini being paraplegic is the best example which made several people wonder how Philippine History is taught in schools.

** Simiarly, Luna's face and his favorite curse "Puñeta" (roughly "Jack-off"/"Jerk-off", or "Wanker").

** Reacting to various situations using the screencap of Rusco's bloodied face and the caption "Putang-ina!" ("Son of a whore!", but used more like "Fuck!")