El Filibusterismo

Gerardo de Leon’s masterpiece of an adaptation of Jose Rizal’s gothic revenge novel.

Juan Crisostomo Ibarra has changed his name and identity to a rich jeweler named Simoun. In disguise, he travels the world amassing wealth, which he intends to use to topple the corrupt and abusive regime in his native land. But Simoun’s real motive is personal. He wants to rescue his beloved, Maria Clara, from the convent and avenge the death of his father. In a forest on Christmas Eve, Basilio, a medical student recognizes Simoun’s true identity as the man who helped bury his mother Sisa more than ten years before, under a tree. Simoun is in the forest to retrieve the gems he buried near Sisa’s grave. As the film progresses, all the secrets and intrigues are revealed, and the plotters’ plan fails. A good Filipino priest throws Simoun’s jewels away, thereby eliminating the greed, violence and other evils they might have provoked.

Director: Gerardo de Leon
Writers: Adrian Cristobal (screenplay), Jose Rizal (novel), Jose Flores Sibal (screenplay)
Stars: Pancho Magalona, Charito Solis, Teody Belarmino, Edita Vital, Ben Perez, Carlos Padilla Jr., Lourdes Medel, Robert Arevalo, Oscar Keesee, Ramon D’Salva, Joseph de Cordova, Paquito Diaz, Boy Francisco, Alfonso Carvajal, Jose Garcia, Nello Nayo, Monang Carvajal, Jerry Pons