It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

This movie was certainly entertaining as the audience gets to watch a crazy man act absurdly pretending to be someone else. The soap-opera-type of drama and acting adds another layer of things that make the viewer smile. The main character Santiago takes on a Don Quijote-like persona, living his life as though he were actually Simón Bolívar. The irrationality of it all makes it hard to take the film seriously. Perhaps there is some sort of message or theme to the movie, but the ridiculousness of everything is too distracting to allow any long lasting impressions to stick with the audience. The light, nonchalant nature of this movie makes it accessible to any sort of audience.

What an interesting and unique film. I must admit that I have never seen such a movie. This film through the use of the soap opera genre makes a political statement that correlates the perceived failed dreams and ruined ambitions of the Bolivarian nations to a liberal portrayal of that national hero. This film portrays a region that has diluted and morphed the image of the liberator in many different ways to fit their own personal ambitions and 'self-reflexive' notions. This film boldly attempts to transcend these many interpretations to find the true nature of 'Bolivar'. Throughout this film, the only person who seemed to understand the essence of Bolivar was Bolivar (the actor) himself. Here, the one relatively 'crazy' person, seemed to be the only one who was not immersed in the madness of the media's liberator represented by the blatantly fictitious soap opera that pushed Santiago towards a justified madness. That is irony. The truth for him was not clouded by the media and the opinions of society as was the prostitute and many others who were willing to immerse themselves in a fictitious world of false history and false interpretation of the legacy of the central figure Bolivar. But really, this portrayal of the Bolivar and his dreams in Bolivar Soy Yo is probably just another interpretation. These types of differences represent society itself, which is inherently diverse and utterly un-agreeable.This film seemed to me almost satirical in essence. It was almost to stupid to be believable, and at times I really was not sure if the actors themselves were just crazy (in the film), or if this whole movie was an intentional farce. This was answered when the dying Bolivar cut the last scene. The exaggerated use of overacting or "histrionics" as Kantaras calls it seemed to create an environment where the whole country seemed to believe that soap operas were in fact a portrayal of reality. I believe that this satirical depiction of Bolivarian Nationality represents the influence of the media and personal perceptions in clouding and distorting the image and dreams of the true Bolivar who dreamed of unity and prosperity. Again, it is ironic that the only person that understood this in the film was the person dubbed as "mad". There definitely is an underlying message here. This movie was far too serious to be simply a distorted comedy, it was much more complex. There is deep meaning here that would take more knowledge than I have at this particular moment to comprehend along with more words that I have at my disposal at this moment in time.In the end, I believe that this movie made fun of many different groups of people, but ultimately, Bolivar Soy Yo mad fun of society as a whole by representing the potential stupidity of relying on self-reflexive mediatization (seeing yourself as others see you) for political understanding where politics itself is self-reflexive and mediatized in nature. This represents a never-ending cycle of misinformation in which we as humans find solace in our own notions of reality where society itself dictates those notions. Thus we in society deceive ourselves through society.And kudos for making such a great film on a $750,000 budget. I believe that soap operas are cheaper to produce.

A friend loaned me this film and I'm glad he did. I am not knowledgeable on either the history of Simon Bolivar or current day Columbia, but this was not a barrier to enjoying the story. The protagonist is a lead in a very popular historical soap opera in which he plays Simon Bolivar. It is clear that the TV show is not going for historical accuracy, but is content to focus on Bolivar's love affairs. The script calls for Bolivar to be shot before a firing squad. Our protagonist begins to identify strongly with the character, especially the latter's dreams of a unified Columbia. He bolts from the set just before he is shot and visits the current president of Columbia who is a fan and invites him attend a political rally, where he feels he can benefit from the actor's popularity. A series of adventures ensue in which the lead character fluctuates between his own identity and that of Bolivar, moving more toward the latter as the film progresses. The humorous situations that follow are able to show how Bolivar's dream of a united Columbia have been thwarted by selfish politicians on both the right and left. This type of film often unravels about half way through, but "Bolivar Is Me" manages to reach the ending with flying colors. Very enjoyable on several levels. 7 of 10.

Based on a real story, this awesome film is pure magic realism. It is one of those films that are able to mix tragedy and humor, something characteristic of Latin America. Being Colombian I think I find in this movie a vivid portrait of the reality of my country; it depicts the dreams of our liberator, the dreams the common people have about him, and the realities of an amazing and contradictory country. The humor in this film is not just about simple jokes, it is a social criticism. Perhaps the only thing that could make this movie a bad one is the viewer. Either if you are an expert of the Colombian conflict or someone who has no idea about it, I definitely recommend `Bolívar soy yo.'