Aside from its eponymous membership in the CALABARZON Region, among many other attributes and offspring, Quezon as a single word has spurred a lot of meaning and qualifications.
Quezon is now "Quezon," a film.
And "Quezon" has been generating controversies, one of them coming from Ricky Avancena, one of the descendants of Manuel Luis Quezon, whose life is one of the sources of materials in the making of the movie.
During a talkback session of "Quezon" after its screening, Ricky castigated the filmmakers of the biopic including and, primarily its director, Jerrold Tarog and its actor Jericho Rosales who played Quezon.
Obviously, Avancena didn't like the way his grandfather was delineated in bad light in the narrative.
The Avancena tirades have consequently created uproar in and outside social media practically about MLQ and filmmaking.
Mixed reactions are in order.
Actress and arts manager Liza Dino-Seguerra said that she understood the predicament of the filmmakers and the approaches to their filmmaking.
This is an excerpt from Dino-Seguerra's take on "Quezon" published in her social media spaces:
"Let’s be clear about one thing: Quezon is not a film about humanizing a hero. It’s a film about dismantling heroism itself…
"His goal was never to reveal Quezon’s humanity, but to challenge the myth surrounding him…
"A family cannot own history. But they are part of it. That’s why dialogue matters.
"Dialogue doesn’t mean surrendering creative freedom or letting families dictate the story. It means listening.
"It means recognizing that while a family cannot rewrite history, they carry its memory."
Meanwhile, this is Pinky Amador's opinion: "I was there in the room of that now viral Q&A.
"As a creative, I thought there were many good elements in the craftsmanship of Quezon. Editing, pacing, use of devices and performances of the cast along with design were stunning...
"When you add layers of ‘fiction” and ‘satire’ then purposefully BLUR those lines with your creative treatment, then you are weaponizing history according to your narrative for sales. It becomes sensationalized and adds interest to potential clients.
"I also get that this treatment can encourage deeper conversation and debate. But for whom? Only the learned and intellectuals?…
"We are in an educational crisis. 24 million Filipinos struggle with functional literacy and 91 percent of 10-year-olds unable to read simple texts.
"So when Dep-Ed endorsed films become the only education for millions, showing only one side isn't just poor storytelling—it's miseducation… We never asked to be consulted nor include MLQ as one of your so called Bayanis..."
Pinky is from the Angara-Amador family, of the Quezon-Molina lineage.
On the other hand, celebrated historian Ambeth Ocampo praised the movie, as well as teacher and artist Jose Victor Torres.
Torres said: "Movies are done both ways: as works of art and as works of reality. QUEZON walked in between. It was made to elicit discussion like all historical films. Entertainment comes first, discussion next. If the viewer simply stopped at entertainment, then good. (Jericho Rosales is talagang guwapo).
"But if the viewer asks questions and tries to learn more, then better.
"One cannot simply condemn a film as bad. That is a biased opinion. Because, again, a movie cannot show an entire life in one sitting. Even a good published biography has the reader go through it for several days to get the full story...
“Everyone seemed to have missed the fact that in the showing of Quezon’s heroism with the Jews, he was a poker player and hard politician in dealing with what would be a hard decision for his nation.”
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