During the press launch for his latest film Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral, which focuses on the life of Gregorio Del Pilar, the youngest general during the Philippine-American war, director Jerrod Tarog shared it has a different vibe from his previous film Heneral Luna.

“Heneral Luna is of fire and anger and then pagdating kay Goyo introspection. Kumbaga kung si Luna apoy, si Goyo parang tubig. Mas tahimik yung pelikula. And in a way, mas parang invitation siya sa audience para pag-isipan ng mabuti kung ano yung mga nangyayari sa history. It’s more of paglabas mo ng sinehan, ‘Saan ba tayo nagkamali and ano ba yung nangyari sa revolution natin at bakit tayo naging ganito ngayon?’” he explained.

Direk Jerrold admitted he wanted to show a more well-rounded side to Goyo that wasn’t just about what can be read in the local history books.

“Kasi when you read about Goyo, usually yung mababasa mo yung straightforward na heroic siya, yung mga accomplishments niya, ganyan. So parang naghanap ako ng balanse which is may mga accounts sa buhay ni Goyo. This movie is about Goyo growing up and learning to face his mortality. May mga bagay na hindi naman ni-romanticize pero ginawa naming poetic cinematically yung mga stories,” he said.

The writer and director also gave an idea of what audiences can expect when they watch the film, which opens on September 5 in theaters nationwide.

“Puwede nila i-interpret sa point of view ng isang tao na nabigyan ng sobrang laking responsibility and then dahil batang bata pa siya, when Goyo turned 24 actually. December siya namatay, November yung birthday niya. So parang yun yung point of view na batang bata ka pa and then nabigyan ka ng sobrang laking malaking responsibility by the president of the Philippines no less, so kung paano mo i-ha-handle yun, paano ka mag-go-grow up, kung paano mo i-ri-realize na sobrang fragile ng buhay mo and puwede siya mawala na parang bula. So paano mo bibigyan ng mas malalaim na meaning yung sarili mong buhay,” he remarked.

The Goyo director also revealed it took them almost a year to finish the film after shooting for more then seven months and then doing post-production.

During the presscon, Direk Jerrold assured the local press that there will also be a final installment which will focus on the life of Manuel Quezon who will already make an appearance in Goyo. “Benjamin Alves is Manuel Quezon pero you need to watch the timeline para maintindihan niyo yung magigng takbo nung timeline nung buong trilogy. Importante na mabuo yung trilogy kasi sa third film, mas malaki na yung kuwento ni Emilio Aguinaldo. Kasi iba iba yung point of view sa pelikula. Sa Heneral Luna kontrabida si Aguinaldo, dito medyo nasa side tayo ni Aguinaldo kasi katabi ni Goyo and then iba naman yung point of view pagdating sa Quezon,” he added.