''Bayaning 3rd World'' () is a 1999 Philippine mockumentary film directed by Mike de Leon and written by De Leon and Clodualdo del Mundo Jr. It examines the heroism of Philippine

national hero The title of Hero is presented by various governments in recognition of acts of self-sacrifice to the state, and great achievements in combat or labor. It is originally a Soviet-type honor, and is continued by several nations including Belarus, Ru ...

Jose Rizal Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya * Jose the Gali ...

, particularly on his supposed retraction of his writings against the

Catholic Church in the Philippines , native_name_lang = , image = Front view of The Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = , caption = Manila Cathedral, Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Concepcion ...

during the Spanish colonization period in the country.

Plot

Two filmmakers try to create a film venturing on the life of José Rizal. Before they do that, they try to investigate on the heroism of the Philippine national hero. Of particular focus is his supposed retraction of his views against the Roman Catholic Church during the Spanish regime in the Philippines which he expressed primarily through his two novels '' Noli Me Tangere'' and '' El Filibusterismo''. The investigation was done mainly by "interviewing" key individuals in the life of Rizal such as his mother Teodora Alonso, his siblings

Paciano Paciano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 30 km southwest of Perugia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 974 and an area of 16.8 km².All demographics and oth ...

, Trinidad, and Narcisa, his love interest and supposed wife

Josephine Bracken Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken (October 3, 1876 – March 15, 1902) was the common-law wife of Philippine nationalist José Rizal during his exile in Dapitan in the province of Zamboanga del Norte in the southern Philippines.Craig 1913, p. 21 ...

, and the Jesuit priest who supposedly witnessed Rizal's retraction, Vicente Balaguer. Eventually, the two filmmakers would end up "interviewing" Rizal himself to get to the bottom of the issue.

Production

In 1997, director Mike de Leon had been working on a film project on the life of Jose Rizal with Cinemax Studios. Along the way, he invited screenwriter Clodualdo del Mundo Jr. to collaborate with him in the project. Problems during production eventually led to the project being scrapped, though it would later be completed by director

Marilou Diaz-Abaya Marilou Correa Diaz-Abaya (March 30, 1955 – October 8, 2012) was a Filipina multi-award winning film director. She was conferred the Order of National Artists of the Philippines for Film and Broadcast Arts in 2022, she was the founder and pre ...

as the 1998 film ''Jose Rizal''. Despite this, de Leon and Del Mundo decided to proceed with producing an independently financed film on Jose Rizal. The duo tried to conceptualize on a film different from that of the original film project they worked on. De Leon created his first draft of the script in the English language, while Del Mundo would translate the script in the Filipino language and add some revisions.

Cast

Ricky Davao Frederick Charles Davao, professionally known as Ricky Davao (born May 30, 1961) is a Filipino actor, television director, and industrial management engineer (graduated from Mapua Institute of Technology. He is the husband of actress Jackie Lou ...

as Filmmaker # 1 * Cris Villanueva as Filmmaker # 2 *

Joel Torre José Rizalino "Joel" de León Torre (born June 19, 1961) is a Filipino actor and producer who is best known for his numerous films such as the biographical film ''José Rizal'' (1998), crime thriller film '' On the Job'' (2013) and the historica ...

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national h ...

* Daria Ramirez as Teodora Alonzo *

Joonee Gamboa Joonee Gamboa (born Jose Espineli Gamboa Jr.; August 7, 1936) is a Filipino actor. As veteran actor, he appeared in more than 145 movies and television shows. Life and career Gamboa won the Best Supporting Actor in the 1977 Metro Manila Film F ...

as Paciano * Rio Locsin as

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

Cherry Pie Picache Cherry Pie Sison Picache (born May 27, 1970) is a Filipino actress who has starred television and in mainstream and independent films and has worked as a print and TV commercial model for Palmolive, Camay, and Eskinol. Cherry Pie is notable ...

as Narcisa * Lara Fabregas as

* Ed Rocha as Vicente Balaguer * Bon Vivar as José Villaclara

Release

Reception

Film rating

The film had been rated "A" by the Film Ratings Board in 1999. Members of the FRB who viewed the pre-release screening on November 9, 1999, noted that the film brought hope that the local film industry will still be able to excel as the new millennium unfolded.

Critical response

The film has been critically praised for its unique depiction on the life of Jose Rizal. Those who viewed the film at the FRB pre-release screening noted that the film managed to make a difficult subject "accessible, comprehensible and even exciting" and presented itself in a manner that the younger audience could relate to. Film critic Nestor Torre views the film as an "artistic triumph" and believes that it would generate discussion among its viewers on Rizal's status as a hero. In 2004, the New York-based film magazine Film Comments included the film in its list of 10 Best Films in Alternative Cinema. Despite receiving critical acclaim, it was not able to earn well financially when it was first released to Philippine theaters in a limited run. It was re-released in 2000, but was soon pulled due to its poor performance.

Accolades

The film won six of 13 awards at the 23rd

Gawad Urian The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines held since 1977. It is given by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP, "the Filipino Film Critics") and is currently regarded as the counterpart of the United States' New York Fi ...

in 2000, namely Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Joel Torre), Best Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Music. Aside from these, it was also nominated for Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Cris Villanueva), Best Supporting Actor (Ed Rocha), Best Production, and Best Editing. The film also got three nominations from the Film Academy of the Philippines, namely Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Daria Ramirez), and Best Editor.

References

External links

*
''Bayaning 3rd World''
at the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino
''Bayaning 3rd World''
at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' {{Mike de Leon 1999 films Cultural depictions of José Rizal José Rizal 1990s mockumentary films Philippine black-and-white films Philippine documentary films Philippine satirical films 1990s Tagalog-language films Films directed by Mike De Leon