ONE doesn’t go to see Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral expecting the fire and bull-headedness of the title character in the first of Jerrold Tarog’s hero trilogy, Heneral Luna.
Goyo is more observant, ruminative, contemplative. The film has lesser battle scenes than Heneral Luna, although the last act at Tirad Pass will make you hold your breath. It also isn’t lacking in panoramic vistas, a massive set that recreates a whole town, and scenes that will make you pause and take stock of what truly ails a nation and its citizenry.
Another ace up Goyo’s sleeve is an array of powerful performances from some of the industry’s best actors working today in roles big and small. Award-winning actor Art Acuna is chilling in that scene where he taunts Gregorio del Pilar (Paulo Avelino). Mon Confiado nails the part of Emilio Aguinaldo effortlessly, lending it an air of ambiguity, also the kind of vibe that a flawed historical figure like Aguinaldo gives off.
Thespians Ronnie Lazaro and Roeder Camañag make the most of their short roles. Carlo Aquino as the more conscientious of Goyo’s allies is also fine. Carlo Cruz holds his own and clearly shows his presence as an actor that we need to watch out for. Paulo Avelino captures the fears and arrogance of a young man who seems to not fully understand what he has gotten himself into. As Apolinario Mabini, Epy Quizon provides some of the film’s most arresting messages.
But the biggest revelation in Goyo is the seemingly reluctant actress Gwen Zamora. Zamora plays the young general’s last love, Remedios Nable. Zamora’s face exudes a certain inscrutability which aids her performance greatly. Unlike most townswomen in the late-1800s who throw themselves at the charismatic young general, Zamora’s Remedios is reserved. Zamora conveys the play of emotions inside her without mouthing long lines of dialogue. With the most minute reactions to Goyo’s advances, she makes you feel the little wars raging beneath the calm surface. Has she fallen for Goyo, as well? What are her fears? What are her heart’s dreams?
There is a truly beautiful scene in the movie where Avelino and Zamora conduct a dance while the photographer’s assistant, tasked to look after Goyo’s bag, skims through the many letters from Goyo’s past inamoratas. By the time Zamora as Remedios reads the letter she gave Avelino’s Goyo as send-off memento when the young man goes off to war, which says in part, “Nais ko ng lalaking mayayakap ko, hindi isang bayaning nakatuntong sa mga ulap,” one realizes the turmoil of a love that blossoms in wartime.
Gwen Zamora’s beautiful performance in Goyo proves that her Urian-nominated performance as the third wheel between Sid Lucero and Annicka Dolonius in Mario Cornejo’s Apocalypse Child a few film seasons back is not a fluke.
But Zamora is as difficult to scrutinize onscreen as she is in real life. At the grand media launch of Goyo, she came dressed simply, as though deliberately courting attention by not calling attention to herself. She answered a few nosy questions about her relationship with a Marquez guy and shared what she had been doing while in hibernation. Take note that she took a sabbatical without bothering to explain why. Zamora finished a culinary arts course at Endurun Colleges and shared that she’s a few pounds away from her ideal cinematic weight. She vows to be more active in the months to come.
And yet you half-expect her to not honor her word and perhaps hie off to another adventure, away from the klieg lights. Will she ever be comfortable with the frills of show business? She could one day soon be surfing one moment in Baler, shades of her character in Apocalypse Child, or be whisked off to some far-off country as chef. Or we might just see her hosting a cooking show soon. We will never know for sure.
But for now, Gwen Zamora can rest assured that she has blessed her secret admirers with one memorable performance to talk about while she tries to make up her mind about which path she would like to tread with more certainty. She has indeed come out of her cocoon and will continue to show her beautiful colors as an artist.