Baler (2008) Online

"Baler" is a lavishly produced Marilou Diaz-Abaya-ish historical romantic epic that wouldn't feel out of place with Hollywood's favorite WWII-setting, except here the political situation is set in the late 19th century during the cusp between the final days of Spanish reign and the dawn of American colonization.

Mark Meily's emotionally hollow saga tells the story of doe-eyed Feliza (Anne Curtis), a young Filipina from the capital of Aurora province who falls in love with Celso (Jericho Rosales), a Filipino-Spanish soldier fighting for Spain as the once mighty empire is now on a losing battle defending its overseas territories from the US. Feliza's dad (Phillip Salvador) is an adamant anti-Spanish government fighter which means their love is anything but permissible, and thus are struggling to keep their relationship secret. Outnumbered and out-gunned by the Indios they once governed and abused, the Spanish soldiers in Baler, including Celso and buddy Lope (Mark Bautista), are now forced to hole up in a church as they wait for non-existent military reinforcements to rescue them from the band of Filipinos who have now surrounded them and are waiting for their surrender.

Feliza and Celso are such hackneyed portrayal lovers who are unfortunately caught in the horrors of a military conflict; Roy Iglesias' script thankfully doesn't dwell on their relationship too much, and Meily understates it in favor of focusing on the lives of the Spanish soldiers trapped by their leaders' (Baron Geisler and Ryan Eigenmann) ignorance-induced patriotism. Meily, director of acclaimed comedies "Crying Ladies" and "La Visa Loca," seems an unlikely choice for a serious war drama, but his image of the events is more comfortably reticent than historical weepies of, say, Joel Lamangan. Such restraint, however, comes at a price, as the story lacks an emotional core, where battle scenes - which are in the first place few and far between - lack a sense of urgency, and romantic scenes dutifully go through the claptrap.

It's a beautiful film, though, at least in terms of aesthetics. Curtis plays her damsel-in-waiting with such innocence and beauty that it blends perfectly with Lee Meily's cinematography of a 19th-century rural Philippines, contrasted by the pensively gray monochrome Celso and his mates inhabit. It would have been a nice portrait were "Baler" simply all about the visuals; but Meily, despite his most noble intentions, fail to give the movie its requisite pathos, reducing "Baler" to a story with the emotional effect of a high-school history textbook.

I came to the movie with relatively few expectations and I can say that I was both pleasantly surprised and, sadly, unhappily and expectedly disappointed.

The movie IMHO has both hits and misses though I'm pleased to say that in the history department there are a lot more hits than misses. The narrative stays surprisingly true to the historical events allowing for dramatic license and includes such interesting episodes as the carabao, the night raid where two Cazadores set fire to a house to distract the Filipinos and the newspaper which Cerezo reads that convinces him to surrender.

The costumes and wardrobe seem to be spot on though I'm quibbling about the first commanding officer's (Captain Enrique de Las Morenas y Fossí) uniform which seemed ill fitting, with a big arse Spanish cross that looked like double the size of ANY award I've seen, the lack of the cazador bugle horn devices to indicate the Expeditionary Rifle battalions and the stage play quality of the civilian extra's costumes. That being said, this is one play where they actually destressed the costumes to show passage of time, at least for the besieged Cazadores'. Nice touch there. Sadly, the Filipino side's uniform showed no wear and tear.

The casting was.... eh... I wish they'd cast actual Spaniards or Hispanics for the Spanish officers, Las Morenas, Zayas and Cerezo. Cerezo's fake beard was laughable as was the delivery of the Spanish lines though the Filipino lines were the usual 'pinoy movie' cadenced delivery that just makes me want to scream with agony - they haven't changed the way they speak from the sixties, I swear! - so I suppose its nice that they actually had the Spaniards at least speaking Spanish. The casting of Leo Martinez as one of the officers was inspired and Ipe, however messed up his personal life may or may not be, is still one of THE greats of Philippine cinema. Joel Torre, a period move staple is thankfully confined to the background as one of the staff officers, Teodoro Luna Novicio - I was glad that he wasn't pulling another Juan Crisostomo Ibarra here.

The leads... Echo (Jericho Rosales) is fine as the leading man though Anne Curtis... I would have cast someone more morena in the role. The romance was utterly CRINGEWORTHY and it stretches believability in places - how would a barrio lass whos dad is a leader in the local Katipunan in a small town where everyone is expected to gossip get away with being romanced by a Spanish soldier for a year without dad slitting said Cazador's throat? The dialogue was forgettable and to be expected, reminiscent of a very well done high school social studies play and the usual romantic plot points were all hit - obligatory beach scene, obligatory boat on the river scene, obligatory tasteful lovemaking scene, obligatory beefcake scene, obligatory... (you get my drift).

While I didn't care for the dialogue I was pleasantly surprised by the plotting. While the setup for the place, the unit type, and the political situation were sadly lacking - I say this for our friends from abroad, who haven't studied Philippine history - the plot itself, the narrative, and the incorporation of history into the narrative were quite well done, even better than Pearl Harbor in its utilization of history not merely as a backdrop but having history AFFECT the characters. It's on par with Titanic in that respect I think. The twist at the end, which I was kind of expecting because I'd read the history on the Spanam website, was well delivered and quite the tearjerker.

I wish there had been more setup for the place and the unit type. Baler was an inaccessible garrison, a virtual prison for Spanish troops deployed there - the only way in or out was by boat or going through thick, insurrecto held jungle. That this was NOT emphasized by the movie was a major flaw as it sets up the desperation of the situation. You never get the feeling that these guys are in a desperate backs to the wall situation because you don't realize just how ISOLATED Baler is!

The actors facial hair and emaciation is not clear - they fed their cast too well. There's one hilarious moment where this kid, the sacristan, is released from church and he's telling of the conditions inside and he's like, "We don't have anything to eat" but he's looking pretty darn WELL FED to me! He should at least have kept his shirt on instead of attemption to go beefcake.

The conditions that the Spanish soldiers had to fight in aren't really well addressed. The social conditions of Spanish soldiers is spoken of - poor soldiers who couldn't bribe a government official were sent to the colonies - but the conditions upon reaching the colonies aren't addressed. Nothing is done really to indicate that the church was stifling, the latrine stank and overflowed, the illnesses that the soldiers had to deal with (which proved more lethal than Filipino bullets) weren't well explained - its like some scenes they were fine, other scenes in between they were dying of disease, and then they were fine again.

Then there's technical aspects, the music and the camera angles. Especially in the romantic parts the non-diegetic music is too invasive, too annoying, screaming INSERT ROMANCE HERE. The camera angles, the constant tracking around and its not very well executed either, being irregularly jerky a lot of times, as well as the overused and unnecessary crane shots are irritating and generally unmotivated. It smacks of a very expensive, very well done, very well researched high school play.

That being said, it would have been a splended, A+ grade high school play if I had been the teacher.

"This is dragging too long", one of the character said referring to the Baler siege, the same is true of the movie. The movie started fairly well with the story of Celso (Jericho Rosales) and Feliza (Anne Curtis) meeting and falling in love, until the Baler siege happened. The whole middle part of the movie chronicled how the Spaniards sat inside the church waiting for reinforcement to come from Manila, not knowing that Spain is already defeated.

In between, there are small stories like Gabriel, the brother of Feliza who wants to be a priest ( this story did not materialize any further after Gabriel went out of the church), the story of the other Filipino/Spanish soldier, Lopa, who fell in love with Luming (Feliza's friend) and the political turmoil of the Spanish Filipino war.

Some have criticized the bad Spanish but I appreciate the effort the filmmakers made in making Spaniards speak Spanish. The make up, costume, cinematography are good and the details of the historical context seemed to be well researched. If the facts are true, I must say this is proof that Filipinos are really forgiving people. Even up to now, Filipinos are quick to forgive the sins of their leaders.

The filmmakers are laudable for the effort they gave in making a period movie. There was controversy in the source of the funding of this movie but I don't think money was wasted in this movie.

A historical drama based on a siege of a church occupied by Spanish soldiers. Outside, among the Filipinos looking to defeat the Spanish, a woman waits. Inside her love also waits. Both are wondering if and when they will ever be together again. This film gives us another look at life during the Philippine revolution.

There are many characters in the movie that I wish to discuss. I can't see focusing on just one. Celso Resurrreccion, is a perfect example of being caught up between sides in a war. He is half Spanish and half "Indio" (as he was referred to in the movie"). He is a soldier for the Spanish army, but in love with a local Filipina girl. His loyalty for his unit and his love for his woman is at odds, as her father fights against the Spanish and is one of the leaders in the siege. Celso makes forays from the church on high risk missions to get provisions (and to see his love), but his loyalty is questions when he is caught leaving without cause. His character is conflicted, but his love remains unquestioned. He loves his woman and will stop at nothing to be with her (an admirable quality). Mr. Reyes is also of interest to me because his character is of a strong and uncompromising man. Having been victimized by the Spanish in the past, he hates them with a passion and has no qualms about destroying his enemies. I felt his angst and actually felt sorry for him when he took a hard line against the wishes of his children. He does soften up a little for his son and grandson, but he does not change his stance or his beliefs.

One of the issues I want to further look at is that of love and conviction. Mr. Reyes is strong in his beliefs and will just about disown his children rather than compromise his position. In the end though, Mr. Reyes still loves his children. His son Gabriel is also strong willed, willing to join the priesthood, against his father's wishes. His love of god/religion is strong. Our couples love is also strong, neither willing to give up on love and both able to forsake all others in the name of love, even against warring parties. Another issue I wanted to mention is that of power and control in relation to religion. Some people believe that religion is a social construct designed to hold power over people. Gabriel wanted to join the priests of the church (Spanish Catholicism). His father railed against the idea, saying that his son was being used by the friars and that his son had fallen for their lies. Mr. Reyes saw the Catholic Church as many others did, as a form of social control and tool for assimilation to the Spanish empire.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this period film that shows how complicated love and family dynamics can be during a war. As in all wars, families can be torn apart and destroyed by war. I wish it wasn't a romantic tragedy, and I wish that love would conquer all in the end, but unfortunately this film is based on real events and not a fairy tale with a guaranteed happy ending where everyone lives happily ever after.

Del Rosario, V., Rosario-Corpus, V., Genuino, E., Go, H., Rufino, J., Del Rosario, V. (Producers), Meily, M. (Director). (2008) Baler Motion Picture. Philippines: VIVA Films

I can relate the movie Baler to my favorite movie, 'Pearl Harbor.' Why? Because both movies revolve in the story of war and is related to romance.

I cannot say that this movie was better than Pearl Harbor, of course, because 'Pearl Harbor' was made in Hollywood and effects were worked on very hard, while 'Baler' was made in the Philippines. However, 'Baler,' as I see it, could be something that the Philippine Film Producers can be proud of and is world-class. It is not just good nor very good. It was excellent.

Beginning from the plot, the film really did impressed me; and the production like filming locations, acting, and effects were explicit and is undeniably amazing. Also, considering that actors were from the Philippines, the pronunciation of Spanish words were very good that you may not be able to notice that they just memorized their scripts.

For the action-packed parts, I need not to elaborate anymore, because if you watch the movie, you will find it yourself. The drama part which was raised by the forbidden love of a Mestizo soldier (Jericho Rosales) and a Filipina lass (Anne Curtis) was also good.

8 out of 10 for Baler!

One of the best Filipino movies for me, I am from Maria Aurora a nearby town from Baler and i never known how great the story of the Baler Siege is until i watched the movie.

I'm surprised to know that the love story of Celso and Feliza really did exist as what is mentioned on the last part of the movie.

The direction is good, while the cinematography was superb.

Though a lot of people keep on saying that there are character mismatches in the film, the actors and actresses particularly the lead characters really did a great job.

Anne Curtis was beautiful and really effective in her portrayal. She is really commendable Well for me, the movie DEFINITELY deserves its wins especially when you are gonna compare it to some other festival entries.