El Santo de la Espada (in English, The Saint of the Sword) is a 1970 movie that narrates the life of José de San Martín. The main actor was Alfredo Alcón. It had a great success, and it is the most successful movie of the emancipator, but received negative critic due to historical mistakes.[1]
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The movie was a blockbuster directed by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, and with many important actors of the time. It is based on the eponymous novel by Ricardo Rojas. The writers were Beatriz Guido y Luis Pico Estrada, and the script was supervised by the Sanmartinian National Institute.
The role of San Martín was played by Alfredo Alcón, while Evangelina Salazar represented Remedios de Escalada, San Martin's wife. Other important actors included were Lautaro Murúa, Héctor Alterio and Alfredo Iglesias; Leonor Benedetto, Rubén Green and Hugo Arana were novice actors by that time but would become notable ones afterwards.
Most of the film was made in the south of the province of Mendoza, starting by the end of 1968. It was premiered in Mendoza on March 25, 1970.
A few months later, a group of revisionists created a documental movie about San Martín.
The movie relates the life and career of José de San Martín during the emancipation of South America. It starts with his return to Mendoza, with the rest of movie being a flashback told from that point. The battles of San Martín in Spain are not included, starting instead with his arrival to Buenos Aires and the First Triumvirate requesting him to make Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers. His relation with Remedios de Escalada receives an important coverage. After the emancipation of Chile and Perú, San Martín resigns during his meeting with Bolivar and Guayaquil and returns to Mendoza, upon receiving a letter with the grave illness of Remedios. However, when he returned to Mendoza, he found her already dead.