José Rizal (film)

José Rizal is a 1998 Philippine historical drama film directed by Marilou Diaz-Abaya and starring Cesar Montano as José Rizal. The film was based on the true story of Filipino patriot José Rizal, who was imprisoned under the Spanish colonization and tells Rizal's story until the final day of his execution.
At the time of its release, the film was an official entry to the 1998 Metro Manila Film Festival, swept most of the nominations with seventeen awards, making it the first film with the most MMFF award wins.
In 1896, José Rizal is imprisoned in Fort Santiago due to his dissident activities. Meanwhile, in a small field in Balintawak, Andrés Bonifacio and his fellow secret organization, the Katipunan, commence the uprising against the tyranny created by the Spaniards by tearing their cédulas as a sign of freedom from Spanish slavery.
A first lieutenant of the Artillery, Luis Taviel de Andrade, visits Rizal. Taviel de Andrade does not waste time to study carefully Rizal's case. In just a short period, Rizal and Taviel capture each other's sympathy and eventually become friends during their usual meetings in Rizal's cell. Taviel celebrates Christmas with Rizal in the cell where they drink and sing together. Governor General Ramón Blanco also sympathizes with Rizal's cause but is later secretly ousted by corrupt Spanish officials and Manila's archbishop, Bernardino Nozaleda, who replace him with Camilo de Polavieja.
Flashbacks of Rizal's life are shown, from his childhood to his education, until his professional life as a doctor. He soon begins writing his two novels Noli Me Tángere and El filibusterismo, which are then published. In addition, key scenes from the two novels are also shown. Returning to the Philippines after a dispute with other Filipino reformists in Madrid, he establishes La Liga Filipina in 1892 and meets Bonifacio, who distinguishes himself as an enthusiastic admirer. Shortly afterwards, he is exiled to Dapitan and spends the next four years working as a doctor, during which he also falls in love with Josephine Bracken, who later gives birth to their stillborn child.
After Christmas of 1896, Rizal is sent to the Real Audiencia, the colonial court of appeal, to hear the trial against him. Despite a passionate defense by Taviel de Andrade, the magistrates decide to condemn him to the firing squad on the morning of December 30 in Luneta. Taviel de Andrade expresses his outrage and shame in front of Rizal, who passively accepts the decision. He is later visited by his family.
On the night before the execution, Rizal has a vision in which he encounters his alter ego—protagonist, "Simoun" (the former Crisostomo Ibarra), from El Filibusterismo, tempting him to change the climax of the novel after Simoun criticizes him as weak. Instead, Rizal writes his last poem "Mi último adiós".
On the morning of his execution, his kin receives a small alcohol stove from his cell containing "Mi último adiós". Stopping at the place of execution facing the rising sun, Rizal requests the authorities for him to face the firing squad, but the request is denied. Calm and without haste, he requests to have his head spared instead and the captain agrees. At the moment the firing squad aims at his back, he utters his final words: Consummatum est ("It is done"). After Rizal collapses from the gunfire, the commanding officer gives him a mercy shot, killing him. The Spaniards in the crowd celebrate, while the Filipinos mourn.
Following Rizal's execution, the Katipunan continues its uprising, with Bonifacio leading an ambush and the revolutionaries killing friars in an act of vengeance. As Bonifacio and his top generals plan new offensives, the camera pans to Rizal's picture at the wall of his headquarters before revealing Rizal's hat which sat by the shores of Manila Bay, concluding with an epilogue about the revolution and the proclamation of independence in 1898.
In 1994, there were efforts to produce a Hollywood feature film based on the life of José Rizal led by director Cirio H. Santiago, then the head of the Film Development Foundation of the Philippines, with the approval of President Fidel V. Ramos. Actors who were reportedly considered for the project included Andy Garcia as Rizal, Winona Ryder as Josephine Bracken, and Sharon Cuneta as Leonor Rivera, with Jonathan Demme as director, though the project did not come to fruition.
It was the most expensive film in the history of Filipino cinema with a budget of over ₱80 million.
During the film's release in 1998, the Probe Team, hosted by Che Che Lazaro, produced a special behind-the-scenes documentary titled José Rizal: The Making of a Masterpiece. The documentary highlighted various aspects of the film’s creation, its historical background, and included interviews with the director, cast, producers, members of the production and design team, and other key figures involved in the film.
In 1999, GMA Network released an accompanying publication titled Ang Screenplay ng José Rizal, which featured the original screenplay of the film written by Ricky Lee, Jun Lana, and Peter Ong Lim, along with interviews from the cast, directing crew, and production team.
The film was subsequently released in DVD-format and VCD format by GMA Records Home Video and distributed by Viva Video in 2006.
In 2024, GMA Network digitally restored and remastered the film, in partnership with Central Digital Lab. It was shown to audiences during the 2024 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. The restored version of the movie was released for Netflix on December 30, 2024 to mark Rizal Day.
The film was screened and run in competition in different film festivals worldwide and included in the Official Selection for Panorama at the Berlin International Film Festival (1998). It also won 2nd runner-up in the Audience Award of the Toronto Filmfest and the Chicago International Film Festival.