Customer Reviews

Manuela Saenz

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Very few films from Venezuela get the opportunity to be issued in the foreing market. But with "Manuela Saenz" finally we get the chance to see the refined work of director Diego Risquez in collaboration with the cinematography of Cezary Jaworski, who made the movie to be remarkably beautiful by his use of light. Another important element of this film is the use of accurate customs and locations, which helps the audience submerge immediately into the passionate and tragic atmosphere of nineteenth century Venezuela.

Mariano Alvarez portrays "Simon Bolivar" - a troubled and passionate man - with great naturality, which contrast with the sometimes force acting of Beatriz Valdez as "Manuela Saenz". This is not to say that she did not made a good job in playing a very difficult role as a strong woman who lives between her glorious past and her sad present, but because the movie is clearly apologetic her acting can get over the top sometimes.

The DVD includes a very interesting "Behind the Cameras" documentary (only in Spanish) which made me realize that, taking into account the small budget they had, it is a miracle how good this movie looks and sounds.

A final note to the Spanish speakers, somehow this DVD edition does not allow the subtitles to be eliminated from the screen, which means that the DVD contains the international version of the film.

the difficulty of making films in venezuela is overwhelming. this was a movie done with a lot of love and effort. the theme, worth noticing, historical venezuela and the presence of a woman that is important as well as bolivar in the psyche of latinoamerica. excellent!

Una muy buena pelicula que presenta a Manuelita durante sus ultimos anos en el norte de Peru y tambien incluye recuerdos de su tiempo con Simon Bolivar. Hubiera sido interesante ver algo de la ninez de Manuelita en el Ecuador o su tiempo en un convento antes de casarse con un ingles. La pelicula es fiel a los datos de su vida e incluye la visita de Herman Melville y Simon Rodriquez a su casa en Peru.

Los colores varian segun el escenario -- colores amarillos cuando ella ya es una senora vieja y tormentada en un pueblo pobre de Peru contra colores mas brillantes en Gran Colombia cuando ella era una mujer elegante, audaz y joven (aunque estas escenas generalmente son de noche).

Los prejuicios tradicionales contra Manuelita -- que no era fiel a su esposo, que no se portaba como una senora digna, etc. -- no deben ocultar la energia y contribucion de una de las mujeres mas extraordinarias en la historia de America Latina. Con el exito de la obra de Garcia Marquez ("el general en su laberinto") y peliculas como esta, el mundo por fin esta valorando a esta gran mujer ecuatoriana.

As a historian of the Andean wars of independence, and a fan of 19th century romance, I looked forward to the Risquez treatment of the Saenz-Bolivar affair. The incidents and settings portrayed are generally accurate, but the definitive treatment remains to be done.

Actually "Manuela Saenz" is two movies. The sepia-toned film about Manuela's last days of exile in Paita, on the desert coast of Peru, is quite effective. Jaworski's use of lighting is wonderful. Beatriz Valdez is good at evoking the melancholy, half-life existence of a 50-something invalid woman dreaming of her lost heroic past.

But the movie's telling of role of La Saenz in the rise and fall of Gran Colombia, in which her relationship with Bolivar was only one element, is sadly lacking. The color flashback scenes are fragmented, small and constricted. Where sweeping shots of the Andes are called for, Risquez just offers us the odd llama munching on the paramo. Beyond a little street fighting in Lima, there are no battle scenes, in spite of the fact that Saenz actually watched the battle of Pichincha from a Quito rooftop and was a uniformed officer on the field at the decisive battle of Ayacucho. (Bolivar failed to show up for either clash of arms.) Nothing is made of Saenz's career as a spy-master for the revolution in Lima and Quito before she ever met Bolivar.

Worse, Valdez's subdued acting style, while appropriate for the Paita scenes, further deadens sequences that ought to tell the story of a free-thinking revolutionary who more than held her own among the imposing men of the Liberating Army, including Bolivar himself. On the other hand, Mariano Alvarez does a good job as the increasing weary Bolivar. What is missing is the way Saenz was able to reinvigorate Bolivar's energy and idealism. Frankly, I cannot see what Bolivar could have possibly seen in the ho-hum version of Manuela Saenz offered by Valdez.

Let's hope that the rumors turn out to be true of Salma Hayek making a big-budget Manuela flick ("La Mas Bella") with Ecuadorian director Víctor Rubén Rodríguez. This story has Hollywood epic written all over it, while Hayek looks and can play the part.

La película no está mal, pero la porquería que hizo Venevisión con los subtítulos NO TIENE NOMBRE! Los subtítulos en inglés están "montados" sobre el video y no hay forma de quitarlos como en cualquier otro DVD decente. Absolutamente inaceptable. Nunca más pienso volver a comprar películas de Venevisión, dan pena.

This is the first movie I watched about Manuela Seanz in order to do my thesis. The movie takes the most publicized and well known events in her life and puts them in a movie. It is an overview of her life. I think it is a great movie due to the antiquated tint the film has while Manuela speaks about the past, her life, her love while exiles in Paita, Peru. This is to show the historical aspect of it. But if you think about your memories, aren't they in color? That is why most of the movie is in regular cinematic color. This movie is Manuela telling Herman Melville her story. I will say that you will not fully appreciate this film unless you have a basic understanding of who Manuela is. For instance, she shoots one of her dogs [she is not a bad person you have to see the film] because in her dimentia she thinks it is one of the men that betrayed the idea og gran colombia since the dog bears that persons name. I only gave it 4 stars because it only portrayed the main known events of her life and did not go deeper. This is a good film to start with if you have read at least 1 book about Manuela Saenz [not a book about Bolivar].

ESTA ES UNA VERSION QUE DEJA SIN ALIENTO A CUALQUIERA QUE LA OSERVA Y LA ANALIZA CON DETENIMIENTO,HA SIDO UNA MUY BUENA INTERPRETACION Y UNA PELICULA BIEN REDACTADA DE LO QUE PASO Y DE REALMENTE COMO FUERON LOS HECHOS EN EL PASADO, Y DE LO QUE SURGIO EN LA HISTORIA DE VENEZUELA Y COLOMBIA CUANDO AQUEL GRAN PROYECTO DE AFAN QUE TUVO SIN PARAR AQUEL GRAN HOMBRE VENEZOLANO LLAMADO SIMON BOLIVAR NO DESCANSO CON EL FIN DE BUSCAR SU PROPOSITO DE FORMAR LA UNION DE LAS 5 NACIONES Y LAS MAS IMPORTANTES LA GRAN COLOMBIA LA QUE QUEDO EN UN NUNCA JAMAS POR UNA TRAICION DE AQUELLOS AMBISIOSOS,EGOISTAS,QUE DECIAN SER SUS COMPANEROS PATRIOTAS,PAEZ ,SANTANDER,FUERON LOS PROTAGONISTAS DE QUITARLE Y ARRANQUERLE ESE SUENO TAN GRANDIOSO DE BOLIVAR CON TAN SOLO UN TRAISION QUE COSTO EL FRACASO DE BOLIVAR DEJANDOLO ASI A UN LADO DE LA DERROTA MAS NO DE LA INMORTALIDAD,YA QUE NO HAY DUDA QUE BOLIVAR FUE Y SIEMPRE SERA EL LIBERTADOR DE LAS AMERICAS Y EL GRAN HOMBRE VENEZOLANO CON UN HEROISMO INFINITO SIENDO UN INMORTAL MAS PARA LA HISTORIA EN NUESTROS PAISES......