MAKATI CITY – The room full of producers, actors, directors, creatives, and publishers fell as silent as a deep river when John Arcilla, clad in his signature general’s uniform, complete with the faux moustache transformed into his Heneral Luna persona and started bellowing out lines from the blockbuster indie film.
You could hear a pin drop if not for Arcilla’s powerful voice crying out: “Mali ba na ipakulong ko ang isang heneral habang siya ay namamasyal sa giyera? Mali ba na tanggalan ko ng ranggo ang isang kapitan dahil niyayari niya ang isang babae sa gitna ng labanan? Mali ba na sabihin ko na inuuna ninyo ang inyong sarili kaysa bayan?” and of course, Heneral Luna’s infamous cuss: “Puñeta!!!”
"Ano kayang sinasabi ni Heneral Luna habang binabaril siya?" John Arcilla shows us:
Posted by adobo magazine on Monday, November 2, 2015
For your morning viewing pleasure, here's 21 more seconds of John Arcilla's breathtaking live performance as Heneral Luna:
Posted by adobo magazine on Monday, November 2, 2015
Hearing the lines from the movie through the cinema’s speakers was already gut-wrenching enough but witnessing it performed live by Arcilla, a veteran theatre actor in an event organized by Seven A.D., adobo magazine and Film Pabrika on Monday at the Makati Diamond Suites undoubtedly blew the audience away.
The Heneral Luna Effect
That night’s spectators were just some of the thousands of people that have been touched by the breakthrough historical film about the life of–in the words of Emilio Aguinaldo played by Mon Confiado–one of the Philippines’ best generals.
Before turning into his Heneral Luna character, Arcilla fondly recalled having received hundreds of messages of thanks from people he knew and even those he didn’t. He also mentioned being emotional every time students and parents approach him. One mother told him, “Thank you for winning our kids back from Marvel.”
According to Arcilla, he didn’t expect that his dialogues and other antics would bore into the minds of people, even using these as “hugot” lines: “Negosyo o kalayaan? Bayan o sarili? Mamili ka.” “Para kayong birheng naniniwala sa pag-ibig ng isang puta.”
Rough beginnings
Like any independent film trying to enter the mainstream arena, Heneral Luna, produced by Fernando Ortigas of Artikulo Uno Productions had its own share of troubles. Ting Nebrida, the film’s marketing manager, recalled having a hard time securing the crew’s desired airing date while trying to compete with bigger productions. They settled for a risky September 9th airing day together with the hit hollywood film, The Maze Runner. “Iniisip ko nga noon sana tumagal kahit hanggang Biyernes man lang,” joked Arcilla.
Heneral Luna went from 100 cinemas during its debut showing and then down to just 40 after two days. One of the producers, Ed Rocha shared that even though people wanted to buy tickets in advance for the weekend screenings, the cinemas wouldn’t sell because there was no guarantee that the movie would still be playing by then.
From L-R: Ting Nebrida, adobo magazine’s Angel Guerrero, John Arcilla, Seven A. D.’s Teeny Gonzales, Ed Rocha, Fernando Ortigas
Through their own cast’s and other celebrities’ pro-bono efforts in promoting the film on social media, and then eventually even the ordinary citizens who have seen the movie, creating an outcry for more cinemas to screen Heneral Luna, it was back to more than a hundred cinemas in the following days. Right now, eight weeks since its debut, some theatres are still showing Heneral Luna.
From not making the required amount of ticket sales to stay in cinemas during its first few days, Heneral Luna has earned P250 million in revenue with a measly P80 million production capital.
What’s next for Heneral Luna and Artikulo Uno?
Despite the unprecedented success of Heneral Luna and John Arcilla himself, the seasoned actor was firm when he said that he wouldn’t be campaigning for any candidate but would be an advocate of wise and responsible voting, “Masisira ang nasimulan.” Arcilla also added that beyond his costume and glued moustache, he will continue to be a symbol and a tool for creating a better Philippines.
After the success of Heneral Luna, another historical film is in the works for Artikulo Uno Productions, this time casting the spotlight on another respected name in Philippine history, Heneral Gregorio del Pilar played by Paulo Avelino.
It was plain serendipity coupled with the dedication of the cast in promoting the film by personally going to the movie houses, the unpaid word of mouth that has been passed on through one Facebook and Twitter post after another, and the passionate and talented production team behind the breakout film–this was the formula, if there really such a thing, that put Heneral Luna on the pedestal, and hopefully along with the future local films that do not just aim to make a profit, but a difference.
Read adobo magazine’s review of Heneral Luna: “Heneral Luna rekindles questions on nationalism.
