Sunday Matinee: Quezon’s Game [Film]

 

“As WWII loomed and the 1930s drew to a close, desperate Jewish refugees seeking to flee German/Austrian ghettos and the escalating atrocities of the Nazi regime found little help from countries around the world. More than 10,000 miles away, over weekend poker games at the Malacanañg Palace, prominent Jewish businessman, two-for-a-nickel cigar maker Alex Frieder, implored his friend “Manny,” Filipino President Manuel L. Quezon, to assist him in establishing asylum for refugees in the tropical, island country. Also helping devise the dramatic rescue plan was American diplomat Paul V. McNutt, who labored to overcome oppressive U.S. objections to the plan, imperiling his own political career and presidential aspirations. Willing to risk it all, it was a moral obligation the Filipino leader was determined to fulfill … despite astronomical obstacles, the Philippines struggling, U.S.-reliant economy and his own gravely failing health due to a relapse of tuberculosis.

 

Instrumental as well was an ambitious, young U.S. Army Colonel, future president Dwight D. Eisenhower, then chief aide to General Douglas MacArthur, serving in the Philippines, a U.S. territory at a time when Filipinos (even diplomats and officials), like African-Americans, were required to use “Colored” bathrooms at the White House. Although Quezon’s intent to rescue 10,000 Jews was abruptly curtailed by the Dec. 8, 1941 invasion and three-year occupation of his country by the Japanese, he, his wife, Aurora, and daughter, Baby, succeeded against all odds to welcome more than 1,200 refugees, initially housing them on his own family’s property, Marikina estate. Yet in his final days in 1944, as president in U.S. exile, he regretfully turned to Aurora and asked, “Could I have done more?” – Greenleaf & Associates PR

 

 

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Oh Folks, do we have a great Sunday Matinee for you all today. First off, my sincerest apologies for the very long descriptive quote right up top. As many regular readers would know, this is usually a very brief overview of what the film is basically about. And while this one isn’t nearly as “brief” as they normally are, please understand that Quezon’s Game is a film that is littered with so much complexity and anxiety-driven content that I felt it was necessary to go long. This is a powerful film, Everyone. I know that words like “powerful” and “moving” seem to get thrown around very willy nilly like these days, but in the case of this masterpiece of cinema, these are pretty accurate descriptors, and I will stand by them.

 

I will be the first to admit something that I’m sure many other people would think simply in reading the description of this film….I HAD NO IDEA! It’s almost damn near shameful how much I did not know about the events that occur in this film, or the involvement of the Philippines in World War II. But after seeing Quezon’s Game, I simply cannot stop talking about it! I would hope that this would speak volumes to the work that filmmaker Matthew E. Rosen and writers Janice Y. Perez and Dean Rosen have put into showcasing the bravery and courage, let alone other the desire to simply do the right thing, that this incredible cast of historical characters managed to a show during such a frightful time.

 

 

We mentioned last week that we may have found the first great film of 2020 with the likes of Adrianna Maggs’s Goalie, but I am now here to say that it took less than a week to find yet another wonderful film of this year, with it only being January! Seriously Folks, I can’t imagine a world where we are not talking about Quezon’s Game a year from now when we are wrapping up our favorite cinematic pleasures of the year. It just doesn’t seem possible.

 

Quezon’s Game recently saw a wide release in theaters across the U.S. and Canada this last Friday, and are currently showing NOW! More theaters will be showing the film this coming Friday as well. See more details below:

 

 

List of U.S. + Canadian Markets

For theater locations, visit: https://www.quezonsgame.com/screening

 

United States

Opening Jan. 24, 2020

Hawaii

Honolulu

 

Illinois

Chicago

 

New Jersey

Bergenfield, Elizabeth

 

Nevada

Las Vegas, Reno

 

New York

Brooklyn, New York City

California

Berkeley, Elk Grove, Los Angeles, Roseville, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco

Virginia

Alexandria, Norfolk, Virginia Beach

United States

Opening Jan. 31, 2020

 

Alaska

Anchorage

 

Arizona

Mesa, Chandler, Phoenix

Colorado

Denver

Florida

Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami

Georgia

Atlanta

  

Maryland

Baltimore, Gaithersburg

Massachusetts

Boston, Danvers, Framingham

Michigan

Detroit

Minnesota

Inver Grove Heights, Minneapolis

Missouri

West Olive

Mississippi

Jackson, Southfield

Ohio

Cleveland

Oklahoma

Tulsa

Oregon

Portland

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pittsburgh

Texas

Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Grapevine, Houston, Plano, San Antonio

Utah

Salt Lake City

 

                                                                             Washington                                                                                          

Olympia, Seattle

 

Washington D.C.

Metro

Canada

Opening Jan. 24, 2020

Alberta

Calgary, Edmonton

British Columbia

Vancouver, Surrey

Manitoba

Winnipeg

 

Ontario

Mississauga, Scarborough, Toronto

Quebec

Montreal

Canada

Opening Jan. 31, 2020

 

Alberta

Grande Prairie, Red Deer

British Columbia

Kelowna, New Westminster, Victoria

Ontario

Kitchener-London, Ottawa, Vaughan

 

Saskatchewan

Regina, Saskatoon

 

Yukon

Whitehorse

 

 

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<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/377850707“>QUEZON’S GAME OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL RELEASE TRAILER</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/quezonsgamefilm“>Quezon’s Game Film</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com“>Vimeo</a>.</p>