"Little Bad Boy: Binatang Rizal sa Europa"

shadowness.com

            I understand now why the documentary is entitled "Little Bad Boy: Binatang Rizal sa Europa". Yes, the film did not even present Jose Rizal being rowdy and loud yet it has shown how he is as a bachelor. He indeed knows how to make ladies fall in his net through the use of his alluring words and perhaps his looks. He is an epitome of a man who knows how the ins and outs of romance. To support and attest this, the film presented an excerpt from the series of love letters written to Rizal by a Belgian woman named Suzanne. “In a letter sent to Rizal while he was traveling in Spain, she wrote: "There will never be any home in which you are so loved as that in Brussels. So, you little bad boy, hurry back." Well, what he means by “bad” and how “bad” he is arouses creative imaginations. Altogether, he is a normal social being who finds a companion.”¹

            Aside from being skilled in making “the moves”, he is really a very fortunate man. To live a life under the moonlight shining in Paris and in other places in Europe is really a manifestation of how affluent his family is. It really is an experience not everyone could afford. It is a privilege not everyone could avail. Perhaps, it is safe to conclude that his being affluent had a great role on molding the national hero that he is.

            That is, being wealthy as to study in the grounds of Europe paved the way to his greatness and fame. Mentioning fame, I was really amazed how a man, not a single drop of Filipino blood running in his veins namely Jean Paul Verstraeten could be very enthusiastic with regard to Rizal's life and works. The intensity of his interest and adoration to Rizal is far stronger than most fully blooded Filipinos have. He is so into Rizal that he even pledges to let everyone know the hero and his ideals which is very admirable. Jose Rizal indeed touched lives and influenced minds more than he intended to. His greatness is not bounded by the Philippines' shores.

            Perhaps what Verstraeten is doing is an act to look up to. It is for anyone including myself to just continue staring or to start to do the same. But in the eyes of the heroes, both the living and the dead, it is always best to take the similar path that they have trod. 

            Clips of his living descendants were also shown. The places that he has been into, the paintings having him as one of the subjects, photographs, works among others that has his touch were also presented. These existing things just prove that he really did exist and not just a figment of an imagination. He is real.

            All in all, the documentary film by Howie Severino and his I-Witness team for me presented a new way of viewing Jose Rizal. He is a normal rich boy who lived a life typical of a blooming bachelor. Knowing him and his works is a calling to every Filipino so that we could attain a certain level of admiration that would soon compel us to do as Verstraeten is doing.

^{1 http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/209429/news/specialreports/as-young-man-in-europe-was-rizal-a-little-bad-boy}