Apparently, during his presidency,
Manuel L. Quezon worked to give Jewish refugees displaced by Hitler’s
oppressive regime asylum in the Philippines, basically saving them from the
Nazi’s infamous Final Solution. This is a
forgotten event in Philippine history.
It hasn’t been taught in schools.
Personally, I only learned of it a couple of years ago when I read an
article about Israel honoring the Philippines and Quezon.
Quezon’s Game, a Philippine historical drama film directed by
British-Jewish Matthew Rosen, aims to remedy the shocking obscurity of this
story. And, if my Facebook newsfeed is any
indication, I think it has succeeded in doing so. In fact, if nothing else, Quezon’s Game did to Manuel L. Quezon
what Heneral Luna did to Antonio Luna
with regards to improving his stock as a Filipino historical figure.
By the way, speaking of Heneral Luna, Quezon’s Game kind of did Artikulo Uno dirty. The final film rounding up the production
company’s intended trilogy, which Heneral
Luna started and Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral carried on, is going to be centered on Manuel L. Quezon. Thus, not only does Quezon’s Game somewhat steal some of the thunder of that upcoming
film, but it also sets a bar for it. Furthermore,
less perceptive filmgoers will undoubtedly mistake it as that third Artikulo
Uno film.
Anyway, Quezon’s Game depicts the process Quezon underwent in order to
bring Jewish refugees into the country. And,
boy, it wasn’t easy. There was much
opposition to it from both American and Filipino politicians. But despite the great hurdles put in front of
him, as well as his deteriorating health, the commonwealth president – displaying
admirable moral resolve and political savvy, and with the support and aid of
his family and allies – was able to architect the best possible deal for it at
that time.
The film makes sure to suggest that Quezon has his flaws, but it ultimately presents him as an honorable man who – in spite of the immense challenge, adversity,
and personal cost – courageously chose to step up and lead his paltry nation,
even though it had limited influence and resources, to extend help to those in desperate
need when other more powerful, richer nations didn’t.
And thus, it’s evident that the film’s main moral is that, when you are in a position to do the right thing, you must do it no matter what. Even though it’s inconvenient. Even though it requires much sacrifice. Even though it won’t yield any recognition for you. In other words, it’s essentially “with great power comes great responsibility.” It’s a cliché, yeah. But it’s unfailingly impactful nonetheless since very few people would opt to do the right thing when it would prove difficult and unrewarding.
And thus, it’s evident that the film’s main moral is that, when you are in a position to do the right thing, you must do it no matter what. Even though it’s inconvenient. Even though it requires much sacrifice. Even though it won’t yield any recognition for you. In other words, it’s essentially “with great power comes great responsibility.” It’s a cliché, yeah. But it’s unfailingly impactful nonetheless since very few people would opt to do the right thing when it would prove difficult and unrewarding.
Now, I’m not really a big fan of
Manuel L. Quezon – more specifically, his iconic “I prefer a government run
like hell by Filipinos to a government run like heaven by Americans”
quote. I thought – still think – that it’s
an arrogant and thoughtless thing to say. However, I like how the film made the argument
for Philippine independence and nationalism play an important part in resolving
the story’s central conflict. And thus, in
the context of the perspective unique to this movie, I feel that Quezon’s “government
run like hell by Filipinos” rhetoric drives home.
I also like the “political
thriller” aspect of the film. Yes, the
stress is definitely more on the “principles” side of the man, but like the 2012 film Lincoln, it also highlights the
man willingly and capably playing politics.
In a way, Quezon is shown to have “won” the titular game, not
necessarily because of his principles (though, again, the stress is on that),
but most likely because of political leveraging.
In relation to this, Quezon is portrayed
as an avid poker player. However, nothing
really came out of this character detail.
Certainly, the film missed the opportunity of using the poker scenes to
make him come off as calculating and shrewd.
Even if this facet of him being master poker player isn’t necessarily
true in real life, the creative liberty of making him so would have improved
his characterization tremendously for this movie – especially, when it’s titled
“Quezon’s Game.”
The performances are strong all
around, especially from Raymond Bagatsing, who plays Quezon. It feels like he (or the director or both) had
made an effort to watch available footage of the president so that he could authentically
imitate his mannerisms, speech patterns, and accent.
On a side note, there’s this
scene where an upset Quezon clears his table heatedly before collapsing in a
burst of coughs. On its own, it’s
definitely corny and laughable. But
within the context of the narrative, and because of Bagatsing’s commitment, it
somehow emotionally lands.
All in all, Quezon’s Game is absolutely gripping, thought-provoking, and moving. It may not be the much anticipated
culminating film to Artikulo Uno’s epic trilogy, but it’s every bit of a must-watch
and perspective-changing as what Artikulo Uno’s Quezon film could potentially
be.
Quezon’s Game is likely ending up as my pick for best Filipino film
of 2019.
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