The Liberator

2013 "His army never conquered. It liberated."
6.8| 1h59m| R| en| More Info
Released: 03 October 2014 Released
Producted By: WMG Film
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Bolívar was instrumental in Latin America’s struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire, and is today considered one of the most influential politicians and emancipators in American history. Libertador is told from the viewpoint of Bolívar, portrayed by Ramírez, about his quests and epic military campaigns, which covered twice the territory Alexander the Great conquered, and his vision to unify South America.

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Reviews

Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
TinsHeadline Touches You
AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.
ma-cortes THE LIBERATOR is a epic recreation about a notorious Venezolan hero who purposes to free his country from the Spanish army . Simon Bolívar , a brave man would defy an Empire , this flick journeys through the impassioned struggle of a revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar -Édgar Ramírez- who fought over 100 battles against the Spanish Empire in South America. He rode over 70,000 miles on horseback. His military campaigns covered twice the territory of Alexander the Great. His army never conquered -- it liberated and to create a free and equal Latin America. This epic/historical movie , in ¨Mel Gibson's Braveheart¨style , contains thrills , emotion ,romance , breathtaking battles and being based on historical events . It packs a splendid cast giving good interpretations , as starring Édgar Ramírez, Danny Huston, María Valverde, Imanol Arias, Iwan Rheon , Gary Lewis and Juana Acosta . However , some reviewers often cited as an inaccurate historical epic. . This is the classic story about confrontation between good guys , the Venezuelan , versus bad guys , the Spanish , being extremely manicheist . A simplistic and pure tale with rude stereotypes and offering a stew of Hollywood clichés , being overlong but well played and efficiently directed .The film has some heavily fictitious events but filmmakers claimed the changes had been made for dramatic purposes and based off a script by Timothy Sexton . Impressive production design , including thousands of extras , a majority of the actors and extras in this film were actually Venezolan and others using 3D computer generator . Colorful and glamorous cinematography by Xavi Gimenez , showing marvelous outdoors , including glamorous opening shots , snowy peaks , wide prairies , lush jungles , dark mists and many other things . Evocative and sensitive musical score by the prestigious composer Gustavo Dudamel who a bit later on married Maria Valverde .The motion picture was well directed by Alberto Arévalo , being a groundbreaking endeavor and Official submission of Venezuela to the best foreign language film category of the 87th Academy Awards 2015 . The picture is based on historical happenings , these are the followings : Simon Bolívar fight for independence in Latin America from Spain and his vision of a united South American nation .Bolívar unites different races, social classes, and nations to defeat the Spanish Empire . Colloquially known as El Libertador, was a Venezuelan military and political leader who played a leading role in the establishment of Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama as sovereign states, independent of Spanish rule. Bolívar was born into a wealthy, aristocratic Criollo family and, as was common for the heirs of upper-class families in his day, was sent to be educated abroad at a young age, arriving in Spain when he was 16 and later moving to France. While in Europe, he was introduced to the ideas of the Enlightenment, which later motivated him to overthrow the reigning Spanish in colonial South America. Taking advantage of the disorder in Spain prompted by the Peninsular War, Bolívar began his campaign for independence in 1808, appealing to the wealthy Creole population through a conservative process . The campaign for the independence of New Granada was consolidated under the auspices of Francisco Mariño y Soler with the victory at the Battle of Boyacá on 7 August 1819. Later he established an organized national congress within three years. Despite a number of hindrances, including the arrival of an unprecedentedly large Spanish expeditionary force, the revolutionaries eventually prevailed, culminating in the patriot victory at the Battle of Carabobo in 1821, which effectively made Venezuela an independent country. Following this triumph over the Spanish monarchy, Bolívar participated in the foundation of the first union of independent nations in Latin America, Gran Colombia, of which he was president from 1819 to 1830. Through further military campaigns, he ousted Spanish rulers from Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, the latter of which was named after him. He was simultaneously president of Gran Colombia (present-day Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador) and Peru, while his second-in-command, Antonio José de Sucre, was appointed president of Bolivia. Bolívar aimed at a strong and united Spanish America able to cope not only with the threats emanating from Spain and the European Holy Alliance but also with the emerging power of the United States. At the peak of his power, Bolívar ruled over a vast territory from the Argentine border to the Caribbean Sea. Bolívar is viewed as a national icon in much of modern South America, and is considered one of the great heroes of the Hispanic independence movements of the early 19th century, along with José de San Martín, Sucre , Francisco de Miranda and others. At the end of his life, Bolívar despaired of the situation in his native region, with the famous quote "all who served the revolution have plowed the sea".In an address to the Constituent Congress of the Republic of Colombia, Bolívar stated "Fellow citizens! I blush to say this: Independence is the only benefit we have acquired, to the detriment of all the rest" . However , for the rest of the 19th century and into the early 20th century, the political environment of Latin America was fraught with civil wars and characterized by a sociopolitical phenomenon known as caudillismo, which became very common in Venezuela, especially after 1830. According to Quiroz, caudillos were inspired by Bolívar's centralized government ideals, since "Bolívar crushed liberal-minded leaders and usurped constitutional power", with some caudillos learning from Bolívar how to abuse military funds "under the banner of patriotic heroism .
Jim Chevallier When "2001: A Space Odyssey" came out, some of us spent long hours discussing the meaning of the disjointed ending. Then I read the novel and discovered that the ending made perfect, even banal, sense; it was just that Kubrick had cut away the connecting logic and left us with isolated images. Something similar happens in this attempt to transpose Bolivar's epic struggle to two hours on-screen; incidents appear with no clear reason or subsequent implication. Danny Huston, compelling and charming as always, appears initially as an Englishman whose role seems central, only to disappear for most of the film after a few scenes. And when he does reappear, it is implied (quite counter-historically) that he had something to do with a famous attack on Bolivar's life. Or maybe not, since transitions are not this film's strong point. The memorable Manuela Saenz appears all at once but is never even named and it is only AFTER the attack in question that we hear a brief mention of her courage - with no hint that she in fact may have saved Bolivar's life, earning her the nickname "The Liberator of the Liberator". We briefly see Sucre close-up before he gets lost in the subsequent crowd of faces, so that when news comes of his assassination (with no hint that it was probably one of Bolivar's own officers who arranged it) we see Bolivar upset, but with no clear idea of why (still less that Bolivar supposedly cried out, "They have slain Abel!" foreseeing the impact it would have on the movement's hopes). Basically, if you do not already know much of this story, you may be swept up in the panoramic battles, the personal conflicts and some very erotic moments, but you won't really follow what's going on. If you do know it, you will be frustrated by how key events are given equal weight with some which may not even have happened (notably the end, which corresponds to no documented reality I know of). It does not help that the film lingers early on on what is essentially back story, wasting valuable screen time on what is apparently meant to be character development, but ultimately slows and clutters a story that needs far more delineation. Will you enjoy the film? If you like pageantry and passion, very likely. Will you come away much more informed about important historical events, or a complex figure, than if you had watched a completely fictional costumed drama? Not really.
Jean-Pol Cardin My opinion-- I watched a beautiful historical film about the major events that marked the history of South America. One can say that it is a hagiography on all these events and on the life of Simon Bolivar. This film was just made to make us understand and show us all the events of this period, but of course nobody can exactly restore the state of depression, emotions and fear that all the people involved in all these events of the " And the period has really felt, because in these troubled times, it is always the people who suffer much more than the images suggest, hence the term hagiography, but we still feel very well the soul of the film And all the intensity of the situations of the time. The production of Alberto.Arvelo is very careful and made his film live, he felt and restored the context of the time, to also note an exceptional performance by Edgar Ramirez (Simon Bolivar). We can summarize this way, it is a very good film we do not miss a moment, finally LIBERTADOR is a film to discover
robtromp This is one of the most interesting historical dramas in recent memory - with particular relevance to the USA's current predicament - albeit our oppressors are global multinational companies who have no conventional nationalistic affiliations. The histories of men like Simon Bolivar and Che Guevara bear much scrutiny for the citizens of the USA today - because they were both born of a privileged society, but were driven by their consciences to work against the established power of their era. The one lesson to be learned by the two is that one must steer a very narrow path between collaboration and revolution to be successful, lest one become the tool of the current establishment or the tool of the establishment to be.Watching this tempts me to compare and contrast with another of America's much-loved founding fathers, George Washington. If you look at the details of their achievement, for better or worse - one wonders how much of their legacy derives from the fact that although both were born into power and privilege - one ended up the richest North American of the day and the owner of numerous slaves and slave employing interests, and the other ended up dead under suspicious circumstances after having clearly declared himself a true champion of the average person - of any race.