The Liberator

Simón Bolívar is born into a wealthy family. He is educated in Europe, marries, and loses his wife soon after. On his return he joins the movement for independence from Spanish rule. The years that follow are war: defeats, exiles, fresh starts and large armies. The narrative follows both his campaigns and his political decisions; the union he built and the falling apart of that idea are inside the same narrative. Alberto Arvelo directs. Edgar Ramírez plays Bolívar. It is a Venezuelan and Spanish co-production. The music is by Gustavo Dudamel and the orchestral recordings were a feature the production put forward. It is among the most expensive films of Venezuelan cinema and was submitted as the country's entry for the Oscars. The narrative covers a very wide span of time, which is its weakest side; the events are passed over quickly. It adopts a contested account of Bolívar's death and the film chooses that plainly. The battle scenes are crowded and were shot in real locations. Its historical approach was criticised; the narrative stays largely within a heroic frame. Who it is for: anyone curious about historical biography and Latin American history. Who it is not for: the events jump, the characters are shallow, and the narrative is one sided.