The Liberator: Movie About Bolivar

The Liberator was released in 2013, directed by Alberto Arvelo and written by Timothy J. Sexton. The Liberator starred actor Edgar Ramirez to play the role of Bolivar, as well as Danny Huston, Maria Valverde, Imanol Arias, and Juana Acosta. The film is named after revolutionary leader Simon Bolivar, many refer to him as El Libertador. Simon Bolivar fought many battles against the Spnaish Empire over Latin Ameircan independence. Bolivar and his military travelled long ways on horsebacks and covered large territories. His army never conquered, it liberated them from being under Spain’s rule.

Timothy J. Sexton is a producer but he was the screenwriter of The Liberator. Sexton has won several nominations and has also received an award. Based on an interview Sexton had with BlueCat in October of 2014, Sexton said he was inspired by how little he knew of Simon Bolivar although he was “one of the major lives of the Americas”. He believed someone as important as him should have his story let out, not as a history lesson but to pinpoint what makes men take big steps into achieving something for their benefit as well as others’. To gather more information on Simon Bolivar, Timothy J. Sexton flew to Venezuela and communicated with different people on how they viewed and defined Bolivar. Alberto Arvelo is from Caracas, Venezuela. He is a producer and a writer who is famously recognized for Libertador. Arvelo was also a film school professor in Merida, Venezuela, and founded a movement called the Atomic Cinema in 2002. Alberto Arvelo being Venezuelan said making the film was a big responsibility considering all had different versions of who was Simon Bolivar in an interview with Epic Humanity. Arvelo also stated, “ever since I decided to make movies one of my dreams has been to make a film about the saga for independence in South America,” in the interview.

The Liberator was filmed based on revolutionary leader Simon Bolivar, played by Edgar Ramirez, who gathered military campaigns to fight for independence of South America from the Spanish Empire during the nineteenth century. The film showed Bolivar’s vision of a united Southern American nation and how it was accomplished. It began with a dark night where the camera follows strong man Edgar Ramirez, Simon Bolivar and the year 1828 on the screen. He hands his sword to someone, and a piece of cloth to the maid. There are conversations held in Spanish and some in Egnlish where messages are being delivered. Bolivar reaches the room he had to get to where a woman waited for him, but suddenly the house was under siege and Bolivar had to escape through a window. He tried taking the woman with him but she tells him that they are not there for her, so he leaves. The same time as the rain begins to fall, there is a flashback going back to young Bolivar trying to deal with the death of one of his parents by running into the arms of a slave. Then it goes back to present day showing Simon Bolivar running away from a man on a horse saying Bolivar must die tonight. Not knowing what is happening or will happen, the movie flashes back more showing Bolivar in Spain, where he beats a prince. This part created foreshadow showing that prince will be king soon and the one who Bolivar will rebel against. In Spain, Simon also found his first love, played by Maria Valverde, who he took back to South America to get married. For the first quarter of the movie, Bolivar is mostly depicted as a lovely man rather than a fighter. But when the good circumstances begin to fall, he met with a banker to help Bolivar to take revolutionary action in Venezuela to complete the dream of an independent and unified South America.

Based on actual history, Bolivar was a Venezuelan soldier who led the revolts against Spain. He was president of Gran Colombia for roughly ten years, and was dictator of Peru for three years between 1823 and 1826. Bolivar was born into a wealthy home in 1783 to Spanish descents. When he was just three years old his father died, and a few years later his mother passed away as well. As a teenager, Simon Bolivar headed to Europe to complete his education, and there is also where he married the daughter of a noble then took her to his home country. When his wife died of illness, Bolivar took a toll on a political career where he learned of influencers and ideas from those around him. At this time Bolivar made a promise to free Latin America.

Not many know of Simon Bolivar unless they are from South America. Producer Alberto Alvero’s goal was for viewers of the film to gain knowledge and to form an idea of who Bolivar was as a revolutionary. Arvelo’s collaboration with writer Timothy J. Sexton, made the film simple enough to be understood by any audience from younger to older viewers. Simon Bolivar and his military fought many battles with the Spanish in South America to acquire independence. The film was quite impressive considering there was not one set opinion or view of Simon Bolivar. In fact, many are not familiar with him unless they live in South America but everyone who is familiar with Bolivar perceives him differently. But the way the screenwriter and producer depicted Simon Bolivar is quite off since they made him as too much of a fair-minded man to act as someone who is ruthless and is able to get what they want in a snap. The life of Bolivar seemed somewhat rushed but took some time in his past when it should have taken more time during his revolutionary era. As far as bias, there could have been some involved in the making of the film. Since Alberto Alvero is Venezuelan himself, he can paint a golden picture of who Simon Bolivar was and what extent he was capable of going through to achieve his dream of independence for Latin America. Arvelo can also make the Spanish look as the devil making some parts of the film more drastic and dramatic than they could have really been.

The Liberator is a film that depicts the life of Simon Bolivar as a revolutionary leader from Venezuela who envisioned an independent and united states of South America. The workers of the movie made it simple for the audience to understand the life of Bolivar and the brief history of Latin America in the nineteenth century. Bolivar and his army fought a set of bloody battles to defeat the Spanish Empire to get independence. He was a man of justice, yet was never stopped by any factors that could have prevented him from pursuing his dream.