'Juan Luna sa Paris,' dokumentaryo ni Howie Severino ngayong Sabado sa 'I-Witness'

“SAVAGE: JUAN LUNA IN PARIS”
Dokumentaryo ni Howie Severino
February 27, 2016

Bago pa man nakilala si Heneral Luna at ang mga nobela ni Rizal, nariyan na si Juan Luna, ang pinakamahusay na pintor ng ating bansa.

Si Juan Luna ang unang nagkamit ng katanyagan sa ibang bansa. Pinatunayan niya na ang mga "savage"--ang salitang ginamit noon sa France para tukuyin ang mga lahing hindi puti--na tulad niya ay kayang makipagsabayan sa mga Europeano sa larangan ng sining.

Ngunit muli siyang tinawag na savage ng mga pahayagang Pranses matapos makapatay. Aksidente nga ba o planado ang kanyang nagawa?

Nagpunta si Howie Severino at ang kanyang documentary team sa Paris para lalong makilala ang maestro at ang kanyang naging buhay at krimen sa mahigit sampung taon niyang pagtira sa lungsod.

Sa paghahanap ng kanyang naging bahay at tambayan doon, natuklasan ni Severino ang mga karakter ng Paris na nagmulat sa magkapatid na Antonio at Juan Luna, kay Rizal at iba pang Ilustrado na bumuo ng kamalayang pambansa.

Sinasalamin ng mga ginawang obra ni Luna sa Paris ang umiiral sa lungsod noon: ang iba't ibang antas ng tao, laganap na prostitusyon at makabagong pag-iisip. Marami siyang nagawa roon at marami pa sanang magagawa ngunit bigla itong natigil dahil sa isang insidente ng selos na naging mitsa ng isang madugong katapusan.

Sa gitna ng paglikom ng iba't ibang salaysay ng krimen, isang bagong tanong ang lumitaw--isang misteryo na paulit-ulit naging paksa ni Luna sa kanyang mga obra.

English version:

Way before the fame of Heneral Luna and even before the novels of Rizal, there was Juan Luna, the country's greatest painter.

The first Filipino to attain international fame, Juan Luna proved that savages (as he and other non-whites were called in France) from across the world could be equal to Europeans in creating Western art.

But he was called a savage again after his name was splashed in French tabloids for committing murders. Or were they really homicides or even accidents?

Howie Severino and his documentary team travel to Paris to satisfy a long craving to learn about this complicated historical figure, the sensational crimes associated with his name, and the times he lived in.

In searching for the Luna home and the cafes he patronized, Severino rediscovers the Paris of the Luna brothers, Rizal, and the other Ilustrados who founded a nation.

Luna's art in Paris reflected a city of free thinkers, class divisions, and beautiful, available women. But his peak in artistic productivity was saturated by a jealous rage that is said to have exploded in a bloody climax.

Amid the dispute about what really happened the day Juan Luna fatally fired his gun in his home, a new mystery figure emerges in this documentary, visible to this day in Luna's paintings.