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IVAN MICHAEL H.
GARCERA
BSTM-TOU299
REACTION PAPER
IN
“LOS ULTIMOS DE FILIPINAS”
(OUR LAST MAN IN PHILS)
1898, after four centuries of empire, Spain surrendered the last of its colonies. For six months
following the surrender, a group of Spanish soldiers posted to a remote village in the Philippines
fought on anyway, knowing or preferring to know nothing about it. Their tragic, heroic and
absurd story, one which has left Vietnam-size scars on the Spanish psyche, is the focus of
Salvador Calvo’s feature debut, the clumsily titled 1898, Our Last Men in the Philippines.
Thankfully, the title of this sweeping, ambitious, big-budget drama is one of the few clumsy
things about it (and to be fair, the title works just fine in Spanish). Featuring a superb cast,
striking visuals and a skillful management of a range of stereotypes and cliches that it makes no
attempt to transcend, 1898 offers little that’s new but is still about as close as Spanish movie has
come of late to anything approaching epic movie. Though its subject matter and general focus
are utterly Spanish, it is purely cinematic qualities make it deserving of offshore exposure.
Stereotypes and cliches that it makes no attempt to transcend, 1898 offers little that’s new but is
still about as close as Spanish movie has come of late to anything approaching epic movie.
I knew nothing about the siege of Baler until I watched this movie. It's obviously set in the
dying days of the once mighty Spanish Empire. Not only are the Spanish fighting the Filipino
rebels, the Spanish-American War has also broken out, and the last of Spain's colonial
possessions are in the process of falling to the Americans. This siege continues past the Spanish
surrender to the United States, and past the official transfer of sovereignty over the Philippines to
the United States. These are, quite literally, the last few dozen Spanish soldiers fighting for the
glory of the Empire - an Empire that they either don't realize or won't accept has fallen. Even
once given evidence in the form of Spanish newspapers reporting the end of the war, the
commander of the Spanish troops in the church refuses to believe that Spain is defeated and
insists on fighting on, in spite of increasing hunger and sickness among his men in spite of the
desire of more and more of the Spanish under his command to give up in spite of a few
desertions. But within the limits of what is basically a thoroughly mainstream project, the script
doesn’t shy away from the visceral horrors of war. The conflict scenes are more credible and
bloodier than Spanish movie generally manages, and the slow physical decline of the men
graphically is rendered; though one suspects that conditions must have been even nastier during
the eleven months the soldiers spent in the church than they are shown here. “They’ll remember
you as idiots,” one-character shouts, and basically, his prophecy has largely come true. The
mental damage inflicted by war is brought vividly to life by some terrific performances,
principally from the vets. Cerezo, the most psychologically interesting character, is given a
briefly sketched-out backstory, which helps to explain his decision to keep on fighting when
everyone’s telling him the war is over. The scene during which Cerezo realizes this, a face-to-
face between the ever-intense, gruff Tosar and a Cervantes who proves himself up to the acting
mark, is both the film’s quietest scene and its strongest. As per Marshland, Gutierrez perfects his
turn as the little man in the grip of angry inner demons, while Elejalde’s high-sleaze variation on
the theme of the whiskey priest, undercutting the pretensions of war with his every utterance, is
always watchable. That said, none of them escapes the straitjacket of stereotype, while none of
the Philippine characters, Teresa apart, is individualized to any degree though globally, the
enemy here are portrayed as more fair-minded and decent than their often-brutish Spanish
counterparts veers a little too closely to the rousing, chest-beating fare beloved of major sporting
events, but sometimes achieves real poignancy, especially over the final stretch. Though
generally faithful to fact, 1898 plays pretty fast and loose with historical details, and experts have
pointed out errors: the uniforms are apparently wrong, and the historical soldiers were
experienced soldiers, not greenhorns. (But the weirdest detail, that de las Morena’s brought his
pooch along with him, is apparently fact.) the El Baler where the final surrender took place was
one of the locations of Apocalypse Now, another cinematic take on massive military failure.
1898 is dedicated to producer Pedro Costa, who died in June 2016 It's the pride of Empire here;
national pride that simply won't bend, even in the face of indisputable reality. The sense of
desperation among the Spanish was authentically portrayed, and the scenes of the siege are
convincing. Because it is a siege, there's only limited portrayals of actual warfare. The bulk of
the movie is about conditions inside the church, and the situation of the Spanish men facing
them. And it does seem authentic. Because I knew nothing about the siege of Baler, I did do
some reading after watching this movie. I can see that a few details were changed or omitted - in
particular a failed attempt to rescue the besieged Spanish, ironically enough made by the
Americans after Spain had surrendered (although we were shown a number of dead American
troops near the town, which might be a reference to that, no mention was made that they were
involved in a rescue attempt.) But, generally speaking, as far as I've been able to find out this is a
pretty accurate depiction of what happened at Baler, as the Spanish Empire fought its last battle.
And while there may be a handful of minor inaccuracies, I can't honestly say that they're
important enough to make me downgrade this movie. This is a Spanish movie, filmed in Spanish,
so if subtitles bother you this will likely not be an enjoyable experience. They didn't bother me,
though. This presented, I thought, a powerful reflection on the agonizing last months of the
Spanish Empire.

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IVAN MICHAEL H.

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