Manuela Sáenz
In 1856, a whaler arrives in Paita, Peru; on board is Herman Melville, who is astonished to learn that Manuela Sáenz, for eight years the lover of Simón Bolívar, is still alive. He calls on her, and although she will not talk to him about her life, his visit sends her to her chest of Bolívar's letters. As she reads them, the sepia-toned present gives way to flashbacks in color: she meets 'the Liberator' in 1822, becomes his lover, and also becomes a colonel in his military movement to realize the 'Gran Colombia', one nation across South America. As plague (brought by the ship) closes in on Manuela's household, so does her tempestuous story move toward Bolívar's betrayal and death.
From the archive
Manuela, un programa italiano.
Why this is free to watch
Manuela Sáenz (2000) is hosted by the Internet Archive as a public-domain or openly licensed work, which means its copyright has expired, lapsed, or was released by the rights holder. No signup, no payment and no advertising interrupts playback. Nitrate streams the file directly from the Archive and hosts no video itself.
- Director
- Diego Rísquez
- Starring
- Beatriz Valdés, Mariano Álvarez, Erich Wildpret, Orlando Urdaneta, Alejo Felipe, Asdrúbal Meléndez, Juan Carlos Alarcón, Manuel Salazar
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