LESSONS LEARNED FROM QUEZON'S GAME (REVIEW)

A few friends asked me if I have watched any of the recently released Filipino films. I told them “I haven’t watched any Filipino film during the past 2 months or so,” until  a  few  days  ago,  I  opted  to  watch “Quezon’s Game”  which   opened   last   Wednesday.    I  thought  it  would  be  interesting  to  watch "Quezon’s Game" which offers something new to Filipino audience.

To be honest, I don’t have much idea about President Quezon except that he was the first President of the Philippines under American Commonwealth rule and more so, I had no idea that he initiated the entry of thousands of Jews into the country and saved them from being exterminated during the Holocaust era.   I don't know, but I don't remember anything that it was taught in school, probably not. No wonder we see a lot of Zimmermann, Kauffman and Geisler surnames in the country, some of them figured in local show business. I understand that the surname of President Duterte's legal wife is Zimmerman; could she be a descendant of the group that arrived in the country during the Halocaust era?  

The bio film that I expected, turned out to be a saga of how President Quezon persuaded the American government to allow entry of Jewish refugees into the country. Most of the scenes were shot in-door and focused mainly on the topic amidst disapproval from his allies and foes within his government.  Apparently there were 10,000 visas issued but only 1,200 were able to reach Philippine shores as Japan invaded the country in 1941 (just 10 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor).  Eventually, President Quezon died of severe tuberculosis during the Japanese occupation, two years before the country was finally liberated in 1946.  

The movie, set in the late 30’s shows another side of Manila during the colonial period.  We saw a beautiful city with "calesas" and tranvias (streetcars) lined up the streets of Manila. There’s an ambiance of American elite culture, with soirees and jazz parties frequently held at the palace with mostly American guests and top officials who played poker games with the President. From another perspective, the film looks like more of a Hollywood film than a local one.

Some well known personalities from prominent political clans plays important roles in the story,  notably Sergio Osmena, Sr. (who was the Vice President then), Manuel Roxas and a few others.  President Quezon mentioned that he was not happy with the way Filipinos were treated by the Americans and back in the days some streets and restaurants in Manila didn't allow entry of the locals.  He also reminded the Vice President (who was going to the oval office in Washington to act as emissary), that he will have to  find toilets designated for colored people as it was segregated from the whites.

In 2009, Israel erected a monument in honor of President Quezon’s heroic act for opening doors to the Jews during the time when the rest of the world rejected them.  This is also the reason why Israel grants visa-free access to all Filipinos as a gesture of gratitude. In 1947, the Philippines was the only country in Asia to vote the partition of Palestine leading to the creation of Israel. The ending credits and video clips helps the audience understand more of the story and the aftermath of the President’s efforts that saved thousands of Jews from holocaust.

Quezon’s Game is a great film and it will go down the history of Philippine cinema as one of the best Filipino films ever produced albeit directed by a non-Filipino.  Raymond Bagatsing played the title role  but if I may comment, I find his accent too American and hearing President Quezon speak, you can easily trace his Filipino accent but nonetheless Bagatsing gave an excellent performance. The Director, Matthew Rosen is a British national of Jewish lineage and has been living in the country since the 80’s. I hope the movie does well at the box-office.