Here are the lessons that historical drama ‘Los Salvajes Bravos’ wants Filipinos to learn

MANILA — Reject indifference toward the suffering of others, question those in positions of power and never allow resilience to become an excuse for accepting injustice. These are among the lessons that the cast and filmmakers of “Los Salvajes Bravos” hope audiences will take away from their historical drama.

Set against the 1887 Philippine Exposition in Spain, the film tells the story of Indigenous Filipinos who traveled to Madrid in search of a better future for their families, only to be stripped of their dignity and displayed as exhibits alongside animals and other Philippine products.

During a media conference Thursday, actors Romnick Sarmenta and Ruru Madrid, along with director Paolo Dy, discussed the film’s goals, as well as their realizations while shooting the latest historical film from JesCom Films, the producer behind the 2023 award-winning historical movie “GomBurZa.”

“Gusto kong sabihin na layunin din ng pelikulang ito na burahin ang indifference natin sa isa’t isa. Sa mga pinagdadaanan natin, sa mga sitwasyon, circumstances natin sa buhay. Minsan kasi parang ang dali para sa ating sabihin na ‘ganoon talaga, wala tayong magagawa, hindi naman sa atin nangyari.’ Pero kung titingnan mo kahit sa maliit o minsan sa ibang tao malaki pala, may magagawa ka para maibsan ‘yung pinagdaraanan ng kapwa mo, may maitutulong ka. Para makaramdam sila ng konting ginhawa at the very least makakapagdasal ka para sa kanila. Pero ‘yung indifferrent ka sa kanila, sana ‘yon ay mawala.  At sana sa panonood ng pelkulang ito ay makita, maramdaman at mabuksan ang mga mata natin sa ganoon,”  Sarmenta said.

(I’d like to say that this film also aims to erase our indifference toward one another. Toward what we go through and our circumstances in life. Sometimes, it feels so easy for us to say, ‘that’s just how it is, there’s nothing we can do, it didn’t happen to us anyway.’ But if you look at it, even in small ways or sometimes, for others, big ways, there is something you can do to ease what your fellow human is going through, you can help. So that they can feel a bit of comfort, and at the very least, you can pray for them. But being indifferent to them, I hope that goes away. And I hope that by watching this film, our eyes will be opened to see, feel, and realize that.)

For Madrid, the film reinforced his view that many of the struggles depicted in history continue to resonate today. 

“Especially ang pelikulang ito ay tina-tackle niya ang isang usaping tiwala. Hanggang kailan ba tayo dapat magtiwala or kanino ba tayo dapat magtiwala? Lalo na po kung pag-uusapan natin ay kinabukasan na po ng ating mga buhay. Madalas mapapaniwala po tayo ng mga taong tinitingala natin. Mga taong tanyag at tingin natin na may narating sa buhay dahil sa kani-kanilang mga [karanasan] o kaalaaman. Pero kung minsan ‘yun pa ang nagdadadala sa atin sa posisyon kung saan kukuwestiyunin na natin kung dignidad pa ba o pagka-Filipino na natin. 

“Actually sobrang lalim ng pelikulang ito. I guess karapat-dapat siyang maging kuwento sa mga katulad ko, especially sa generation ko ngayon dahil it’s about time na maging matapang tayo. It’s about time na ‘yung salitang resilience ba ay ‘yun pa rin ba ang katotohanan. ‘Yun pa rin ba talaga ang ibig sabihin ng resilience na masanay na lang tayo sa paulit-ulit na kahirapan na nararanasan natin. Hindi ba pwede o hindi ba resilience din na maging matapang ka na gumising sa katotohanan at kuwestiyunin kung ano na ang nangyayari ngayon. So ‘yun po ang gusto naming maiwan sa mga manonood na kapag napanood nila ang pelikulang ito ay mag-iiwan ng tanong na, anong klaseng tao ka?,” Ruru said.

(Especially since this film tackles the issue of trust. Up to when should we trust or whom should we trust? Epecially when we are talking about the future of our lives. Often, we are easily convinced by people we look up to, people who are prominent and whom we think have achieved success because of their respective experiences or knowledge. But sometimes, they are the very ones who put us in a position where we begin to question our dignity or our being Filipino. Actually, this film is very deep. I guess it deserves to be a story for people like me, especially for my generation today, because it’s about time we become brave. It’s about time we ask whether the word ‘resilience’ still holds true, does resilience really mean just getting used to the recurring poverty we experience? Isn’t it also resilience to have the courage to wake up to reality and question what is happening right now? So that is what we want to leave with the viewers once they watch this film, it will leave them with the question, ‘What kind of person are you?)

“I’m very excited na mapanood ito ng bawat Filipino hindi lang sa ating bansa but also sa iba’t ibang panig pa po ng mundo,” Madrid added.

Director Paolo Dy said that the goal of the film is to continue to fight for the dignity of human beings.

“Ang aim namin dito sa pelikula ay lahat ng mga manonood each of them should be able to relate to one character or two characters. Kasi ‘yung nararanasan nila noon nangyayari pa rin ngayon. ‘Yung struggles nila, friendship nila, family nila, nangyayari pa rin ngayon in different ways. Kung tatanungin sino ang villain ng pelikulang ito hindi kasi klaro na isa o dalawa. Kasi ang villain dito ay ‘yung sistema na nandoon noong panahon na ‘yon. Ngayon nandoon pa rin ‘yung mga sistema na dahil nandiyan sila it results in degradation of human rights, the degradation ng dignity ng mga Filipino. So panoorin natin ito at makikita natin ‘yung struggles ng mga Pinoy dati ay nadiyan pa rin ngayon. Iba ang mga pangalan, iba yung mga ‘colonizers’ pero nandiyan pa rin ‘yung mga struggles natin . It’s just a reminder na no matter what era you’re born into, we have to continue the fight to maintain the dignity of  the human being hanggang sa dulo,” Dy said.

(Our aim here in this film is for every single viewer to be able to relate to one or two characters. Because what they experienced back then is still happening today. Their struggles, their friendships, their families, they are still happening today in different ways. If you ask who the villain of this film is, it’s not clearly just one or two individuals. Because the villain here is the system that existed during that time. Today, those systems are still there, and because they are present, it results in the degradation of human rights and the degradation of the dignity of Filipinos. So let us watch this, and we will see that the struggles of Filipinos back then are still present today. The names are different, the ‘colonizers’ are different, but our struggles remain. It’s just a reminder that no matter what era you’re born into, we have to continue the fight to maintain the dignity of the human being until the very end.)

“Through this film, we seek to bring a forgotten chapter of our history back to life for the new generation. This is a story not only about our past, but also about what it means to be Filipino and how our history continues to shape our identity today,” added Dy, who previously helmed the award-winning historical film “Ignacio de Loyola.”

“Los Salvajes Bravos” revisits a painful yet often-overlooked chapter of Philippine history.

In the movie co-written by Juan Ekis, Sarmenta plays Ismael Alzate, an Igorot veteran who leads a group of indigenous Filipinos to Madrid alongside Purganan, played by Madrid. Driven by dreams of a better future for their families, they travel to Spain, only to find themselves displayed as “primitive people” at El Retiro Park alongside animals, plants, and other Philippine products. It was a dehumanizing spectacle so appalling that it drew the outrage of national hero José Rizal in 1887, who condemned the degrading treatment of his fellow Filipinos.

To bring the story to life, the film was shot largely on location in Spain, with Spanish actors joining the Filipino cast to recreate the exposition. During filming, the cast even endured Spain’s cold weather while wearing traditional Filipino attire, offering a glimpse of the physical hardships their historical counterparts may have experienced far from home.

Beyond historical injustice, “Los Salvajes Bravos” tells a story of dreams, sacrifice, hope, and resilience that echoes the experiences of generations of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who leave home in pursuit of a better life for their loved ones. More than a retelling of the past, the film also invites audiences to draw lessons from history and reexamine who they are as human beings, especially in difficult times when their choices, values, and treatment of others are put to the test.

“We are proud to bring this story to the big screen because it is an important part of our history that deserves to be remembered. Beyond revisiting the past, we hope it encourages Filipinos today to reflect on our own humanity and how we treat one another despite our differences,” said executive producer Fr. Emmanuel “Nono” Alfonso, SJ.

Also starring in the film are Andreas Muñoz, Michael De Mesa, Christian Vasquez, Jojit Lorenzo, Arnold Reyes, Elora Españo, Paolo O’Hara, and Javier Godino, with Aya Sarmiento, Miguel Vasquez, Michael Roy Jornales, JM Salvado, Roven Alejandro, Shagem Sumayag, and Aaron Kaiser Garcia.

“Los Salvajes Bravos,” an official entry to this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, will open in theaters nationwide on December 25.