The final installment of Jerrold Tarog’s Bayaniverse is a powerful political drama that details the cunning machinations of Manuel Quezon and his bid for being the first Filipino president of the Republic of the Philippines, outside of American colonial rule. ‘Quezon’ unabashedly paints the Philippine president as a manipulator and somewhat of a narcissist, quite adept at playing the political game and creating a system that allowed him to fulfill his agenda at the price of creating today’s patronage political system.

Jericho Rosales is completely transformed as the charming, cutthroat Manuel Quezon. He uses his full superstar onscreen presence to showcase Quezon’s ability to broker deals, convince rivals to join forces, and to outwit the American colonial forces. His posture, his intonation and line delivery is so affected that it almost feels comical, put-on but as the film continues to unfold and the consistency of his performance wins you over, you stop seeing Rosales and he becomes this political mastermind.

Co-written with Rody Vera, director Jerold Tarog makes full use of the medium of film, creating a film within the film to showcase Quezon’s use of the platform to help create a myth of his persona. Tarog employs the character of Nadia Hernando (Therese Malvar), who is a director and puts together Quezon’s propaganda films. The films are so successful that it helps catapults Quezon’s popularity but Nadia and her father, the journalist Joven Hernando (played by Cris Villanueva as the older Joven and Arron Villaflor as the younger Joven in flashbacks), know the truth behind the myth they’ve made.

While the films paint Quezon as a hero, a secret cut of the film made by Nadia shows the truth she and her father know. It details the way Quezon has run circles around the American governor-general Leonard Wood (Iain Glen) and Quezon’s own rival and, later, his vice-president Sergio Osmena (Romnick Sarmenta). It details all the ugly politicking that transpired during the eventual presidential campaign when he goes toe-to-toe with Emilio Aguinaldo (Mon Confiado) for the presidency.

Throughout the film’s 139-minute run time, what we see is the origins of personality politics in the country and the establishing of our patronage system. The veil has been lifted and the story that Tarog and Vera weave is one of dirty politics, all in the name of winning freedom and independence from the colonial hold of the United States.

No matter how charming and effective Jericho Rosales is in his portrayal of Quezon, what really comes to light is how powerful media is in our game of politics, that in order to win in that field one must be willing to do whatever it takes, and like Quezon’s wife, Aurora (Karylle) tells him when he asks her if what he’s doing is right, her response is as honest as it can be: “I believe you believe what you are doing is right.”

‘Quezon’ is grand and epic in scale and scope. Tarog imagines for us what the campaign during this period would be like: large-scale crowd scenes, gorgeous scenery of colonial architecture, and striking costumes that highlight our American and Spanish colonial roots while interplaying this with that of our folk and local sensibilities when portraying the people whose very nation Quezon is fighting for.

The movie is thrilling, never dawdling. The pace is quick and brutal, and its imagery is playful and dynamic. At one moment, it captures Quezon in mid-manipulation, sly and cunning; in another scene, he comically loses his temper (which funnily enough happens quite a lot). Other times, the backstory is filled in the form of a silent film that Nadia creates for us to see their perception of Quezon’s truth.

But the most powerful thematic idea that really comes to the forefront, is in the midst of fighting for our independence, Quezon gets lost in the battle and makes this about himself; or maybe it has been about him all this time. It underscores that our political history has always been the battlefield of narcissists who crave for power, to direct the course of our nation’s history whether with the best of intentions or not. Watching the film, I’m amazed at its technical flourish, its bravado and ambition. But as the film ends, I’m feeling rage and anger, seeing the root cause of our issues with our government as detailed by the news and social media these past few weeks. The film’s timing couldn’t have been any better.

My Rating:

Catch Quezon on the big screen and witness how history, ambition, and myth collide in Jerrold Tarog’s bold reimagining of Philippine independence. Check showtimes near you.