Unlocking little-known early 19th century religious revolt

Film review: Ang Hapis at Himagsik ni Hermano Puli

MANILA, Philippines - Before the time of Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio, there was a young man from Quezon who fought for religious freedom and — at some point — succeeded in gathering loyal followers who stood by him to the very end.

His name is Apolinario de la Cruz, popularly known as Hermano Puli and his place of birth is barrio Pandac in Tayabas, now known as Quezon province.

Although the name Hermano Puli is familiar in Quezon province, very little is known about him. Moreover, there is a statue of him in his place of birth but his exploits remain unknown specially for the millennials who treat history as something better off buried in the past.

Gil Portes’ film Ang Hapis at Himagsik ni Hermano Puli is a most welcome film in a cinema landscape groaning with romantic dramas apparently meant to improve the acting credentials of box-office stars.

Portes tapped the acting capabilities of Aljur Abrenica for the title role and he wasn’t a disappointment. He is about the same age of the historical character and he obviously traveled to Puli’s hometown to give himself a real feel of the place where the revolutionary religious leader was born.

The costume and production designs brought us back to the early 19th century with idyllic surrounding of bucolic Tayabas.

With co-star Louise de los Reyes. Torn between the call of religious fulfillment and the call of the flesh.

It was the time when Filipinos were only meant to be plain churchgoers and any of them becoming priest was out of the question. Puli fought for religious freedom and the Portes film gave us a ruthless side of the Spanish rulers who couldn’t imagine Indios (native Filipinos) saying Mass.

For the most part, Puli is an engrossing historical film and here we see the consistent ruthlessness of Spanish rulers.

Puli’s ever growing religious following was deemed a threat to the Spanish hierarchy. Hence, all possible roadblocks were thrown to the young religious leader to thwart his ambition to become a full-pledged Filipino priest.

For the most part, Puli is complemented by competent actors who make his heroic exploits thoroughly credible. They are Louise de los Reyes, Enzo Pineda, Menggie Cobarrubias, Kristoffer Martin, Arnold Reyes, Markki Stroem, Simon Ibarra, Vin Abrenica, Allen Abrenica, Sue Prado, Kiko Matos, Stella Canete, Diva Montelaba, Abel Estanislao and Alvin Fortuna, among others.

As it is, Puli gave us a fairly memorable heroic exploits of a young religious leader out to prove that Filipinos are just as capable of becoming spiritual leaders as their conquerors.

To be sure, Abrenica is fully equipped for the part. His naïve but determined sides surface in his acting. But when he sees his followers die senselessly in a battle that brought to the fore the superiority of the Spanish army, he lets out a helpless howl that showed how utterly unprepared his followers were.

The court scenes of Puli were reminiscent of the trials of Jose Rizal. There was fairly good effort to make the “Spaniards” sound thoroughly Hispanic.

At the end, you wonder where this young man got his audacity to fight a superior Spanish army at the expense of his followers.

As it is, Puli gave us an interesting look at his lifetime (July 22, 1814 to Nov. 4, 1841) and indeed, it is another film saga that proves the heroism of the Filipino in the realm of religious freedom.

For the most part, the film is a labor of love of the director who has good affinity with history. He isn’t daunted by his historic film lacking box-office appeal and you realize he is determined to inform, more than to entertain.

For this reason, the film is a must-watch for millennials and non-millennials.

Ang Hapis at Himagsik ni Hermano Puli is now showing in cinemas.