GomBurZa movie review: How three Filipino priests sparked a revolution, inspired Jose Rizal

An emotionally charged, historical movie with beautiful cinematography, GomBurZa is about three Filipino priests who sparked a revolution—Mariano Gomes, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora. If you didn’t catch it, the first few letters of their surnames form the word GomBurZa.

The story of GomBurZa is well-known to many Filipinos due to its role as a catalyst of rebellion. Historically, the violent murder of these three priests under the unjust Spanish occupation sparked ideals of reform and revolution in bayanis (heroes) who would come generations afterwards.

Directed by award-winning director Jose Lorenzo “Pepe” Diokno III, the film premiered at the annual Metro Manila Film Festival in December 2023.

Lead character Jose Burgos, played by Cedric Juan, makes an empathetic and charismatic protagonist—an almost hero, mired in the depressing realism of the oppressed Filipino in a time of Spanish colonialism.

The steadiness of his wise, clever and fair-minded senior, Mariano Gomez, played by the legendary Dante Rivero, acts as a wonderful foil.

For most of the film, the character Jacinto Zamora, played by fan-favourite Enchong Dee, feels strangely disconnected for those unaware of his history before his death.

He plays a comparatively minor role, which later makes his fate all the more egregious.

While much of the film is made up of snippets or chapters of history, there are stories told in a more dreamlike manner, tying each tale to the beliefs shared by Burgos and his mentor, Pedro Pelaez (played by Pinoy heartthrob Piolo Pascual).

 

It adds an almost folkloric element to the history, and pays tribute to the Filipino cultural identity.

While the film excels in its storytelling, you may be a bit lost if you have n0 context for the history it provides.

Those with a little knowledge of Filipino history might spot some important figures popping up here and there—such as Burgos’ student, Paciano Mercado (Elijah Canlas), who plays Philippine national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s older brother.

The beating heart of the story lies in the deeply human responses characters have in the face of violent colonial rule: from pride in their own ability, frustration at being treated as second-class citizens (despite being better than their Spanish counterparts), to fear as Spain becomes more and more violently oppressive.

The one thing the movie doesn’t do well is action sequences.

There’s a single action scene, and while it’s harrowing, it’s not very convincing, and the low budget is all too obvious in that moment.

Thankfully, the movie sticks to what it’s good at for 95 per cent of the time—intrigue and character drama.

 

The ending is inevitable, but no less painful.

The priests are unjustly tried for treason and treated as scapegoats for some failed attempts at revolution, thrown under the bus by the rich and the self-serving.

While Burgos and Gomez arguably stoked the fires of reform and revolution, Zamora’s only role was being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

His death feels the most hopeless and unfair, although all three priests don’t deserve their fate in the slightest.

Their execution by garrote is visceral and terrifying.

It is meant to show there’s no way to romanticize acts of violence, even despite their conviction and hopes.

It is the sight of this execution that inspires a young Jose Rizal to later write about the horrific injustices of the Spanish occupation and to dedicate his book El Filibusterismo to the three priests.

GomBurZa is a fantastic, must-watch film with great performances.

It shows love for history and sends an important message about justice against violent oppression.

“Ang liwanag ay di maaaring patayin (the light cannot be extinguished)”, says Burgos, towards the end of the movie.

While not perfect, it’s a triumph, and Pepe Diokno and the crew are a credit to modern Filipino filmmaking.

As of writing, it’s currently streaming on Netflix.

 

Motzie Dapul is a queer Pinay writer, artist, and animator who’s bringing Filipino and LGBTQ+ themed stories to global audiences, primarily through genre stories such as fantasy/mythology, sci-fi, horror, and romance (often all at once). She’s best known as the creator of supernatural horror audio drama The Hi Nay Podcast. She immigrated to Canada in late 2018 from Quezon City, and is currently based in Toronto, working in the thriving animation, film, and TV industry.