Tatler Philippines

HENERAL LUNA (2015)

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The achievemen­t of Heneral Luna was that it proved all its naysayers wrong. Yes, not only could we do historical epics on this scale (the last one before this being Marilou Diaz Abaya’s Jose Rizal) but audiences would flock to it even without a popular actor in the titular role or a major studio marketing it. At that time, Arcilla was known for his achievemen­ts in theatre and independen­t cinema but not for his box office appeal. Initially flounderin­g in its first week of release, it picked up after getting good reviews and a strong campaign on social media. It was helped that it captured the zeitgeist of the time, anticipati­ng the political upheavals ahead, a year before the 2016 elections.

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