Simón Bolívar

Historical drama. The first art painting in the world that tried to tell about the life and difficult fate of one of the most famous heroes of Latin America, General Simon Bolivar, who liberated five countries (Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia) from Spanish colonial rule, for which he received the title "Liberator". The man is a legend, revered by the peoples of Latin America to this day, but especially revered in Venezuela, where he comes from, and where a mausoleum was built in his honor (where his remains now rest, along with another, but already modern hero of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez). This film is an international project of Italy-Spain-Venezuela, starring Maximilian Schell himself. So what is the result? Yes, modest, surprisingly. And here is a brief opinion - A gray film adaptation of the struggle of the legendary Liberator. The picture has both advantages and disadvantages. And it all needs to be told. And this is the end of this introduction.

So, the advantages: 1. Simon Bolivar, played by Maximilian Schell, is the main celebrity and almost the only reason why this picture can be mastered at all (because it is deadly boring). Thanks to the filter (or not the highest quality film) and the good makeup of the Austrian Schell, they showed him on the screen in such a way that you wouldn't guess that he was a white actor. After all, the real Simon was a Creole, and they look like Spaniards (they are swarthy). And how he played! When the hero uttered the words of Bolivar himself, it was felt that this was a great personality and an outstanding person, a leader capable of leading people to any feats. He is the brightest character here, and Maximilian Schell played this role, as always, superbly!

2. Some historical battles - surprisingly, in the historical picture about Simon Bolivar, we were shown only three military enterprises: the Battle of Boyaca in 1819 (it looks like it, but it's not accurate), the crossing of the Andes by Bolivar's army of the same year and the Battle of Ayacucho in 1824, which put an end to Spanish power in Peru and Mountainous Peru (the future Bolivia). And that's not enough! Very little. Despite the fact that the creators rounded up a decent crowd and even sewed authentic costumes, but still they showed us only three military enterprises? So they all turned out to be expressionless.

3. Romantic line - the line between Simon Bolivar and Consuela Hernandez turned out to be good. There is that "spark" between them. And what can I say if the actress Rosanna Schiaffino looks extremely fascinating and attractive on the screen. And although there was another woman in reality, it was well done for an artistic painting (although what prevented the creators from naming the heroine correctly? It is unclear).

4. The relationship between Bolivar and other figures of the revolution - despite the problem of the script, the creators still managed to show the difficult relationship between Bolivar and his associates, with whom he served for many years. Almost all of them are shown, as it was in reality, by petty people who care only about their own well-being, and they don't give a damn about their people from a high bell tower. This was the real tragedy of the real Bolivar, who was left alone at the end of his life, along with his dreams, which the leaders of some Latin American countries are only now trying to realize (for example, through the ALBA organization).

So, the disadvantages: 1. There is no context - but there is none, from the word at all! The picture is already starting to be unclear, here is the Liberator, here he is fighting for the freedom of the peoples of Latin America. Here are some battles for you, here are the actions of Bolivar for you - love him. Sorry, the viewer should not read books about Bolivar before watching in order to understand what is happening in your picture. It is up to you, the creators, to show us, the audience, why Bolivar is worthy of our attention and why we should sympathize with the peoples of Latin America, whom the Spanish Empire has been crushing and siphoning off for centuries. There is no voiceover text, and there are no explanatory captions. For some reason, the atrocities of the Spanish punishers were not shown (or even told), but there was something to tell. Working through my reverence!

2. Historical mistakes - instead of the flag of Venezuela and Greater Colombia, the flag of modern Colombia is always used, the beloved of Bolivar was Manuela Saenz, who was a bright revolutionary, but she was married to a certain James Thorne, and not to the figure we see in the picture. Iconic characters are missing. Bolivar receives instructions from Caracas, although Bogota was the capital of Greater Colombia, where the Congress met. Even Bolivar's long-time and loyal friend Simon Rodriguez is not in the picture! But he was a friend and mentor of our hero, who saw in him the undying fire, thanks to which Latin America gained freedom.

3. The characters are not revealed - there is nothing to explain here. It's boring. Apart from the banal cliches, there is nothing else in them. Even Bolivar was shown to be an exceptionally positive hero (although he wasn't completely like that). I don't remember any of them.

4. The scenario - the picture roughly begins in 1819 and ends in 1825. During this period of time, we were shown three military enterprises, a romantic line, the fate of several minor characters (for example, two brothers fighting on different sides of this conflict, although fictional, but not bad within the framework of the picture), Bolivar's struggle with the Spaniards and friction with Congress. That's all. They showed a short period of time in which significant events take place, but even in between there were events that were not even mentioned. It feels like the script was written extremely lazily, otherwise you can't explain such a hack.

The author of this review is once again convinced of human laziness. How could such a great (no fooling) man's biography have been used to make such a drab picture? Read a book from Joseph Lavretsky's ZhZL series called "Bolivar", from it you will learn many details and events in the life of this man. It will give you a complete picture of the Liberator's life and fate, because it shows both the good sides of the hero and not so much. The book is written in good language, it is read quickly and easily, but it is better to avoid this movie, because it will give only an extremely general idea of Simon Bolivar.

The rating is 5 out of 10 and it's not worth wasting time on this movie!

Blassetti was great director. Known from his "white telephone" films in Italy. He dressed as one expects a neo-fascict director to dress, sort of golf pants and boots.

Maximilian Schell a fantastic actor. This is a film, which has been largely forgotten.If you can find where to see it's a must.

One of the best Simon Bolivar films.

The musical score is by the Venezuelan musician Aldemaro Romero. There are a few musical themes which have become icons of music on films.

The photography is by Manuel Berenguer, a noted Spanish director of photography and the use of graded filters makes the tropical skies look as they should.

I worked as an assistant director for the crowd scenes and learned lots from the other assistants and from the movie. I will always remember the director's orders, in IItalian, which I did'nt understand.

I recommend this as a truly, historically correct film, and the master acting Schell, Schiaffino, Rabal, and the Venezuelan Tomás Henriquez, al "Negro Primero".

To begin with, I had never heard of this one before its late-night screening on Italian TV not too long ago; the sole appraisal I read about it back then gave the film – revolving around the struggle under the titular general to unite the South American countries into repelling the Spanish oppressors – the thumbs down but I have to say that I liked it well enough. Incidentally, it proved distinguished director Blasetti's swansong – a return to the epic scale of his most famous productions i.e. THE IRON CROWN (1941) and FABIOLA (1948), though certainly not up to them despite effort all round. Maximilian Schell makes a fine, thoughtful lead; he is supported by the likes of Rosanna Schiaffino (as the unfulfilled wife of an enemy officer who becomes romantically involved with Bolivar) and Francisco Rabal (as a peasant leader who, at first, is unwilling to serve under the Venezuelan general but subsequently emerges the most loyal among his allies). As a matter of fact, Schell brings together about 5 different factions – all of whose individual endeavor had proved futile, while as one army they manage to make a considerable dent in the Spanish lines; that said, Bolivar's zeal (driving the exhausted soldiers on to further conquests) is misconstrued even by his own followers and ends up accused of dictatorial presumptions! Needless to say, the film's tone is heavily redolent of the revolutionary fervor which marked the latter half of the 1960s: in that respect, one can also detect links with the Spaghetti Western subgenre – particularly in view of a jauntily rousing score by the reliable Carlo Savina. The emphasis here is on impassioned speeches and period detail (the widescreen location photography is a big plus, too) rather than sweeping battle scenes yet, when it has to rely upon them, they are still reasonably well-staged.