Los Ultimos de Filipinas: 'History from the Vanquished'

Premiered last night as part of the ongoing Spanish film festival in Manila was Los Ultimos de Filipinas, a cinematic account of the 'motherland's' stragglers in the Philippine-Spanish war. In terms of cinematic value, and considering technology in 1945, I would rate the movie excellent.

Before you write/right me off as harboring a colony of germs in my brain, hear this.

The executive director of Instituto Cervantos was more than ten minutes late, and apologized for the wrong thing, the absence of Spain's ambassador, who had to collect a parliamentary delegation from their country at the airport.

In April this year, there was a piano concert to commemorate the bombing of Guernica, the oil rendition of which was immortalized by Picasso in a painting which now greets the entrance of the United Nations Security Council. The Instituto's director was also late and tried to excuse himself with reference to heavy traffic. Because I was seated close to them, I heard the ambassador publicly berate the guy. "No excuses, por favor," the higher ranked diplomat reminded the lower.

Now back to the movie. It's one of the rare occasions when the victors get a view of how the 'vanquished' want to see themselves. In 1945, Jose Rodriguez explained, the Spanish government supported art partly to instill patriotism (often the refuge of scoundrels and torturers). One of the things which I find mysterious about Spaniards is why it has taken them such a long time to reflect on the rule of Franco. It has only been in recent years when the unmarked graves of the Republicans and resisters have been unearthed.

The Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm has a kinder view of Franco's rule, saying in so many words that there was a fine line between Nazism (with whom Franco was allied) and plain good old authoritarianism. Quesas.

One of the lesser known of George Orwell's works is Homage to Catalonia, where he recalls his sad tale as a volunteer in the Republican army while passing himself off as a 'journalist.' Here we see shades of Jack Reed of Ten Days fame. In his account he referred to the tardiness of his comrades as a racial trait. Some form of bigotry is woven into history and the popular imagination as a result of our humanity, I am wont to say.