The memorable childhood days of Dr. Jose 'Pepe' Rizal is given another curious spin by film director Dave Chicano Cecilio (co-directed by Emmanuel Calairo) who has a hefty portfolio of independently produced films to his credit.
He is a member of the Kapisanan ng mga Direktor ng Pelikulang Pilipino (KDPP) aka Philippine Motion Picture Directors Association (PMPDA) headed by director William Mayo.
Caveat has sneaked into its special preview held at Camp Aguinaldo's best-kept secret Mistah Cafe Restaurant renowned for their impeccable Neocolonial cuisine, but that's another story.
To recall, baby boomers have become so familiar with Camilo Osias' Philippine Readers who grew up valorizing some of the popular tales about the boy Rizal who lost a pair of slipper and what he did with the other pair, including the ominous story of his mother Teodora Alonso Realonda of an inquisitive moth that got scalded to death for flying too close to the light of the oil lamp.
Veteran actress Tanya Gomez here plays the nurturing mother to the young and would-be 'genio' Rizal played by JM Estrella and his nine sisters and brother Paciano all accounted for in the film's narrative.
Most of Rizal's boyhood tales in the film billed 'El Genio De La Raza (The Genius of the Race)' are re-interpreted and given a fresher visual redux by director Cecilio in foregrounding the mindset of Gen Z ( those born between 1997 and 2015 ) who were ushered into the current frenzied peak of technological innovations preceded by the pioneering digital age of the exiting millennials.
Fortuitously, 'El Genio' is highly endorsed by President Rodrigo Duterte who commended in part in his Message from Malacañang Palace extolling, '...Let this (film) be a source of hope and pride as we become heroes and geniuses of our race in the modern times.'
This is also highly endorsed by the Order of the Knights of Rizal, Manila, as its partner under Sir Elihu Ybanez, Supreme Commander of said Order who appealed to fellow knights, ladies, affiliates, and Filipino community to subscribe streaming thru Ticket2me.net which can also be purchased online by bulk through offline arrangement with Clio Multimedia Productions.
As part of the National Activities of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines' 'Rizal @ 160,' the film will have its grand launch and premiere on June 19, 3 p.m. at the VIP Room, Jose Rizal Museum, Calamba, Laguna. The august body composed of local government officials and cabinet secretaries to honor said premiere
will be led by the Czech Republic Ambassador Jana Šedivá who is a solid and renowned Rizalian.
The 'piece de resistance' of said event, however, will come from an internationally renowned political scientist and modern-day renaissance man Prof. David Lapuz, PhD, a titanic walking historian and an avowed Rizalian himself. This in his capacity as guest speaker and current consultant for education, international organization, political development and psychology to President Duterte.
I hope to catch up with Prof. Lapuz on this memorable day. I missed the days when he would huddle with us over cups and cups of steaming hot coffee at our favorite watering hole in Cubao the way Socrates would examine an 'unexamined' lives and political thoughts of his pupils in his proverbial academy so to speak.
Fancy that In the company of director Tony Aguilar; film, theater actor-director Marcelino Cavestany, PhD; and actor-educator Noel Mallonga we would listen up to Dr. Lapuz in his compelling stentorian voice on relevant topics at any given day including
unresolved controversies about Rizal's life and writings.
This also included other ubiquitous habitues of said place who have leveled up gamely to the great beyond: the dear departed and trenchant entertainment gay journalists Frank Mallo, Dennis Adobas, Ishko Lopez, and Isah Red.
Come to think of it, Dr. Lapuz has almost outlived most of his fair-haired pupils at our academy so to speak. Surely, he will come full circle with his highly–anticipated discourse on the far-reaching implications of reliving Dr. Rizal's life through the film in issue amid the resurging Covid-19 pandemic.