Dawn of Freedom (1944) Fernando Poe, Norma Blancaflor,

Rosa Aguirre, Tessie Quintana. Directed by Yutaka Abe and Gerardo de Leon Succeeds in becoming a Japanese propaganda film during the peak of the Second World War in the Philippines. This film depicts the Americans as the main enemy between the three involved states and romanticizes the relationship between the Filipinos and the Japanese despite the recorded war crimes the latter has committed to the former. Naturally, as propaganda, the Japanese declare themselves as the protagonist by withdrawing the Philippines from the Westerners. The film then dismisses the violent crimes the Japanese soldiers have done to Filipinos during their 5-year occupation. Disregarding these important events in a war film results in the advocacy of imperialism for the Filipinos. Watching the Japanese soldier show empathy and kindness to Filipino children brings me great anger and disgust as the same soldiers represented in the film acted brutally towards Filipinos, the complete opposite of what was expressed in the film.