Sakay (film)

Macario Sakay is a carriage factory worker and stage actor from Tondo, Manila who joins Andres Bonifacio's revolutionary secret society, the Katipunan. He fights during the Philippine Revolution against Spain and later in the Philippine–American War. Sakay remains in the field even after the capture of President Emilio Aguinaldo and the fall of the First Philippine Republic. He was captured, but is released during an amnesty.

Sakay then takes to the mountains to revive the Katipunan, together with Francisco Carreon, Julian Montalan, Cornelio Felizardo and other rebel leaders. He proclaims himself General and President of the "Tagalog Republic" (Republika ng Katagalugan), and engaged the United States Army and the Philippine Constabulary in guerrilla warfare. On occasion, he is aided by talisman-wearing cultist warriors.

After years of fighting, Sakay is convinced to surrender by Filipino labor leader Dr. Dominador Gomez, who argued that the establishment of a Philippine National Assembly, instead of armed resistance, presented the soundest option towards attaining Filipino independence.

On the understanding that the American government offered amnesty, Sakay and his officers come down from the mountains. However, as a ruse, they were invited to a reception in Cavite and arrested by the Americans. Tried and convicted for brigandage, Sakay and Colonel Lucio de Vega are hanged while Montalan and others received life imprisonment.

• Julio Diaz as Gen. Macario Sakay
• Tetchie Agbayani as Elena
• Leopoldo Salcedo as Sakay's father
• Nanding Josef as Dr. Dominador Gomez
• Karlo Altomonte as Francisco Carreon
• Crispin Medina as Col. Lucio de Vega
• Ray Ventura as Gen. Cornelio Felizardo
• Raymond Keannu as Gen. Julian Montalan
• Mike Lloren as Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo
• John Arcilla as Gen. Leon Villafuerte
• Bon Vibar as Capt. Harry Hill Bandholtz
• Arvin Pestaño as Antonio Montenegro
• Raul Arellano^[5]

Critic Mario E. Bautista, writing for Movie Flash, deemed Sakay to be the best film of 1993, calling it "not your usual mindless local flick" for its historical setting and technical merits, and praising the performance of Crispin Medina as worthy of a Best Supporting Actor award at the Manila Film Festival.^[5]