''El Santo de la Espada'' (in English, ''The Saint of the Sword'') is a 1970 Argentine historical epic film directed by

Leopoldo Torre Nilsson Leopoldo Torre Nilsson (5 May 1924 – 8 September 1978), also known as Leo Towers and as Babsy, was an Argentine film director, producer and screenwriter. Born as Leopoldo Torres Nilsson (he later changed his paternal surname from Torres to ...

and starring

Alfredo Alcón Alfredo Félix Alcón (; 3 March 1930 – 11 April 2014) was an Argentine theatre and film actor born in Buenos Aires. Widely regarded as one of the best and most important Argentine actors of the 20th century. He worked in more than 50 movies s ...

. It narrates the life of

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and centr ...

. It was written by Beatriz Guido and Luis Pico Estrada, based on the eponymous novel by Ricardo Rojas. The script was supervised by the Sanmartinian National Institute. It had a great success, and it is the most successful movie about "El Libertador" San Martín, although it received some negative reviews due to historical inaccuracies.El Santo de la espada… y el cine

Synopsis

The story relates the life and career of

during the

South American wars of independence The decolonization of the Americas occurred over several centuries as most of the countries in the Americas gained their independence from European rule. The American Revolution was the first in the Americas, and the British defeat in the Ameri ...

. It starts with his return to

Mendoza province Mendoza, officially Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the republic o ...

, with the rest of the narration being told as a flashback.

Cast

* Evangelina Salazar as

Remedios de Escalada Remedios de Escalada is a city located in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, within Lanús Partido, Gran Buenos Aires. It covers an area of 9.95 km² and the population was 81,465 in 2001; the demonym for its inhabitants is "escaladense." ...

Lautaro Murúa Lautaro Murúa (; 29 December 1926 in Tacna, Chile – 3 December 1995 in Madrid) was a Chilean- Argentine actor, film director, and screenwriter. He is one of the best known actors in the cinema of Argentina. Born in Chile, Murúa moved ...

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Alth ...

Ana María Picchio Ana María Picchio (born March 30, 1946 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentina, Argentine actress. She made her debut in 1969 in the film ''Breve cielo'' and has made over 50 appearances in film and TV to date. For her role in ''Breve cielo'' she won ...

Héctor Alterio Héctor Benjamín Alterio Onorato (born 21 September 1929) is an Argentine theatre, film and television actor, well known both in Argentina and Spain. Biography Alterio's theatre debut came in 1948 as the lead in ''Cómo suicidarse en prima ...

Simón Bolivar Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genu ...

Héctor Pellegrini Héctor Pellegrini (6 August 1931 – 1 November 1999) was an Argentine film actor. Pellegrini came to fame in the 1961 acclaimed film ''Alias Gardelito'' and made over 50 appearances mostly in film between 1961 and 1988. Partial filmography * ...

* Alfredo Iglesias * Mario Casado * Walter Soubrié *

Fernando Lewiz Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

Onofre Lovero ''Onofre'' is a genus of Brazilian jumping spiders that was first described by G. R. S. Ruiz & Antônio Domingos Brescovit in 2007. it contains only three species, found in the Amazon basin of Brazil: '' O. carnifex'', '' O. necator'', and '' ...

Miguel Bermúdez --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disamb ...

Juan Carlos Lamas Juan Carlos Lamas (October 13, 1921 – July 27, 2004), born Rafael Velázquez, was an Argentine actor from Rosario. He starred in the 1962 film '' Una Jaula no tiene secretos''. Selected filmography * '' The Romance of a Gaucho'' (1961) Refere ...

Diego Varzi Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. E ...

Aldo Barbero Aldo Barbero (13 February 1937 – 27 October 2013) was an Argentine actor who made over 65 appearances in film and TV in Argentine since the early 1960s. In 1971 he appeared in the musical ''Balada para un mochilero'' directed by Carlos Rinald ...

Eduardo Pavlovsky Eduardo Alejo Pavlovsky, often nicknamed Tato Pavlovsky, (December 10, 1933 – October 4, 2015) was an Argentine playwright, psychoanalyst, actor and novelist. His best known plays included ''El señor Galindez'' in 1973, ''La muerte de Margueritte ...

Leonor Benedetto Leonor or Léonor is a short form of the given name Eleanor. People bearing the name include: *Leonor Beleza (born 1948), Portuguese politician *Leonor Briones (born 1940), Filipino academic and civil servant *Leonor de Cisneros (died 1568), Sp ...

Eduardo Humberto Nóbili Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footba ...

Rodolfo Brindisi Rodolfo Brindisi (1932-2009) was an Argentine actor who appeared in film and television in Argentina between 1970 and 2003. In 1971 he appeared in the musical ''Balada para un mochilero'' directed by Carlos Rinaldi Carlos Rinaldi (February 5 ...

* Luis Manuel de la Cuesta * Carlos Lucini *

Miguel Herrera Miguel Ernesto Herrera Aguirre (born 18 March 1968), popularly referred to by his nickname "Piojo" (Spanish for "louse"), is a Mexican former professional footballer and current manager. He is the head coach of Liga MX club Tijuana. A former ...

* Marcelo Miró *

Hugo Arana Hugo Arana (23 July 1943 – 11 October 2020) was an Argentine film, television, and theatre actor. Life Arana was born on 23 July 1943. He grew up in Monte Grande where his parents were farmers and moved with his family to Lomas de Zamora and t ...

* Ramón Cas * Carlos Davis * Rubén Green * José Slavin *

Leonor Manso Leonor Manso (born 16 April 1948) is an Argentinian actress. She appeared in more than 70 films since 1969. Manso directed her first production, ''Waiting for Godot'', in 1996.Alejo Patricio López Lecube * Mercedes Sosa

History

The role of San Martín was played by

. Evangelina Salazar represented

, San Martin's wife. Other important actors included were

and Alfredo Iglesias;

, Rubén Green and

were novice actors by that time, and eventually developed notable careers afterwards. Most of the film was made in the south of the province of Mendoza, starting by the end of 1968. Some relevant parts of San Martín's life were not covered: The battles of San Martín in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

are not included, starting instead with his arrival to Buenos Aires and the First Triumvirate requesting him to create the

Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers The Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers ( es, Regimiento de Granaderos a Caballo) is the name of two Argentine Army regiments of two different time periods: a historic regiment that operated from 1812 to 1826, and a modern cavalry unit that was organiz ...

. His relation with

receives an important coverage, but with an important fact left unattended: after the emancipation of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, San Martín resigns to his powers in Peru after his meeting with

Simon Bolivar Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genu ...

, in the

Guayaquil conference The Guayaquil Conference ( es, Conferencia de Guayaquil) was a meeting that took place on July 26 and 27, 1822 in the port city of Guayaquil (today part of Ecuador) between libertadors José de San Martín and Simón de Bolívar to discuss the ...

; he returns to Mendoza, upon receiving a letter informing him of the grave illness of Remedios. When he returned to Mendoza, he found Remedios already dead. It was premiered in Mendoza on March 25, 1970, and quickly became a

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

. A few months later, a group of revisionists created a documental movie about San Martín, in an effort to make clear some events the film narrated.

References

External links

*
Entry at Cinenacional.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santo de la Espada Works about the Argentine War of Independence Films set in the 1810s Films set in the 1820s Argentine biographical films José de San Martín 1970 films Argentine epic films 1970s Spanish-language films Films set in Argentina Films directed by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson Argentine war films Cultural depictions of José de San Martín Cultural depictions of Simón Bolívar 1970s biographical films 1970 war films

Synopsis

Cast

History

See also

References

External links