Foreign Policy Blogs

Amigo: An Independent Film Review

Last night I attended the New York premier of Amigo (trailer above), the independent film and brainchild of John Sayles about the Philippine-American War. The film supplements Sayles’ novel A Moment in the Sun (McSweeney’s Books, 2011), which details a small chapter in American history but also one of utmost significance as a comparison to contemporary geopolitics.

The United States purchased the Philippines at the turn of the 19th century for $20 million from Spain, the losers of their own war with America; the act consequently set the U.S. on the path toward global hegemony. As a result of the Spanish-American War, the U.S. acquired Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. At first grateful for their liberation from imperial Spanish rule, Filipinos quickly discovered that life under an American “protectorate” was similarly deleterious. In 1898, U.S. President William McKinley crafted his policy of “benevolent assimilation”, which sought to win over the local population in the Philippines by acclimating it to Western amenities with an eye towards maintaining a firm grip over the nation’s political and economic way of life. The U.S. incurred the wrath of a fervent resistance movement for the next sixteen years before eventually capitulating to Filipino demands for independence.

The film is a testament to the politics of occupation, a fitting theme considering that more than 100 years later, the U.S. is still occupying countries halfway around the world. The main protagonist is Rafeal Dacanay, played by Joel Torre, the Cabeza de Barangay (read: chief) of the small, rural village of San Isidro. When American troops occupy his village and ask for Dacanay’s help in locating and eliminating elements of Filipino resistance guerrillas, the Barangay leader is faced with a painful dilemma- made all the more difficult considering his brother Simon (Ronnie Lazaro) is the head of the local resistance fighters.

The comparisons to our modern day conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are innumerable. Firstly, the young American troops lack any modicum of cultural sensitivity. They do not know the language, the norms, or anything beyond the notion that “the U.S. way is the right way.” There is no appreciation or respect for the fact that they are on someone else’s land, and from their arrival at the outset they seek to exploit the local population on a number of different levels. There are repeated references to winning the “hearts and minds” of the locals, a phrase that still seems to confound American policymakers to this day. Also of note, the Philippine-American war is the first conflict where waterboarding was introduced.

Even as an American, I could not help inwardly cheering for the resistance guerrillas. No one wants to be reduced to a guest on their own land as an occupying force assembles to assume control. Nor could one blame the local inhabitants for fighting back against their oppressors, especially when the occupation is amplified by the ignobility and disrespectful nature of the invading force. Most Americans – as adduced by the support, or lack thereof, of the current wars in the Mideast – can understand this point, so Sayles’ message does not fall on deaf ears. The sad part is that our representatives in Washington still have not learned their lesson, whether it be in the Philippines, Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan. As they say about those who forget their history…

The acting in the film is incredibly sophomoric. Part of this is due to budgetary constraints, which was reported to be very small. The brilliant Chris Cooper (The Bourne Identity, The Kingdom) is a lifesaver in this respect. Additionally, some of the scenes of the countryside are breathtaking; the film was shot in the rice paddy town of Maribojoc in Bohol. Beyond that, I would recommend Amigo if only to serve as a history lesson for an increasingly ignorant populous.

 

Author

Tim LaRocco

Tim LaRocco is an adjunct professor of political science at St. Joseph's College in New York. He was previously a Southeast Asia based journalist and his articles have appeared in a variety of political affairs publications. He is also the author of "Hegemony 101: Great Power Behavior in the Regional Domain" (Lambert, 2013). Tim splits his time between Long Island, New York and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Twitter: @TheRealMrTim.