Film review: Quezon's Game

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Avatar for Annjho08
3 years ago

Title of the film: Quezon’s Game

Quezon's game is a biographical drama film about Ex-president Manuel L. Quezon when he plannned to help and give temporary shelters the German and Austrian Jews to escape from the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler during the pre-World War 2 era. The said film is directed by Matthew Rossen and produced by Carlo Katigbak and Olivia M. Lamasan. It was premiered first in December 16, 2018 at Canada, and later on, aired in countless cinema in the Philippines in 29th of May, 2019. The 125 minutes film won 16 international awards. Raymond Bagatsing, the protagonist of the story who played Manuel L. Quezon also won as best actor and receive praises from international directors for a great portrayal of the character.

The film showed unspoken heroism of Manuel L. Quezon rescuing Jewish refugees from the Holocaust and temporarily providing them shelter in the Philippines. One of the challenges the writers dealt with during Quezon's Game's research phase was the lack of Filipino historical manuscripts tackling the historical account. They referred to theses and dissertations made by Americans, and corresponded with the descendants of Alex and Herbert Frieder who played a major role in Quezon's plan

Rosen, an immigrant who moved to the Philippines in the 1980s, became aware of President Quezon's plan after he learned that his Filipino wife know the lyrics to "Hava Nagila" and local children could sing the folk song despite none of them being aware of its Jewish origin. Rosen started inquiring a synagogue and its museum in Manila in 2009 which led him to learning about President Quezon's plan for Jews fleeing Nazi Germany.

This film isn’t just a film about Manuel L. Quezon, but also a reminder that regardless our situation, if we can help, let’s help. It is ironic that we call ouselves human, but humanity is rare. That’s why we need recalibrate our minds, and let the goodness inside of us come out.

I will definitely recommend this film to my friends not only because of the great cinematography, but also it is a knowledgeable film. I’ll give this a five star!

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