“Quezon” and the unease of history

Sunday evening, I finally had the chance to watch “Quezon,” the third film in the ‘Bayaniverse’ series directed by Jerrold Tarog. The first two films, if one may recall, were the likewise critically acclaimed “Heneral Luna” (2015) and “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral” (2018).

For me, all three films share a common thread. Each examines, in its own historical moment, the enduring flaws of Filipino politics and leadership: the tension between personal ambition and duty to the nation, the fragility of institutions, and the tragic cycle of heroism undermined by ego and factionalism amid foreign domination.

That is why I encourage everyone to watch these films. If you haven’t seen the first two, watch them first. The production company, TBA Studios, has made them available for free on YouTube in HD quality. Then catch “Quezon” in theaters this week. Hopefully the movie houses extend its run. Together, the trilogy weaves a continuing narrative about how our past leaders’ moral and political choices mirror the dysfunctions that still ail our politics today.

My interest in the movie “Quezon” was actually sparked by a recent controversy in which Enrique Quezon Avanceña, grandson of former President Manuel L. Quezon, confronted the filmmakers and cast during the Q&A session at a special screening in Makati City last week. “You ruined the memory of my grandfather,” he said in Tagalog, as reported by Rappler, voicing strong objections to the film’s depiction of his grandfather, which he said distorted Quezon’s legacy and reduced him into a scheming politician.

The film’s producers later released a statement saying that while they respect the sentiments of Quezon’s descendants, they reiterate that the film is grounded in verified historical accounts, including President Quezon’s own autobiography and other reputable sources. “While the film includes fictional elements for thematic purposes, the facts and details presented in the film are easily verifiable through public records, online research, or library resources,” the producers said.

The film actually has a “Study Guide and Companion Book” downloadable from the websitehttps://activevista.ph/new-library/. It points to specific historians, books, and primary materials such as McCoy (1987), Jose (1999), and Quirino (1971), and even links to public collections. It also itemizes which moments are invented, condensed, or time-shifted, allowing viewers to distinguish fact from dramatization.

But whether “Quezon” is an accurate portrayal of the man or a semi-fictionalized depiction crafted to highlight historical truths about our politics and society is, ultimately, less important than the larger conversation it provokes --about how moral vision is tested in the messy, transactional world of politics (Philippine politics at that), and how factionalism, patronage, and personal ego pierces the myth-making of our history books, which tend to sanitize our leaders’ flaws.

In the words of my good friend Januar Yap, a professor on study leave from University of the Philippines Cebu and a PhD candidate in Media and Communication at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia: “'Quezon,' the film, strips the blinders to make us understand that much of what happens in politics happens outside the public sphere. The obvious optics are but tips of the iceberg, a craftwork of intermediation, intense lobbying of private interests and, yes, public welfare as well. The volume of truth is submarine.”