La Esmeralda, 1879 is a Chilean film about the naval Battle of Iquique, which took place on May 21, 1879 in the harbor of this coastal town in the region of Tarapaca. Directed by Elijah Llanos, it was released in 2010 after four years of recordings (2005-2009).
The film was attended by about a thousand people, including 500 extras. 12 million was spent and was funded by the Navy of Chile, the Luksic family and other enterprises, becoming the most expensive in the history of Chilean cinema.
It requires the creation of two sets of floating ships Huáscar monitor corvette Esmeralda and that took a year to build, plus sophisticated sets on land.
The movie completely ignores the other two ships clashed in the Battle of Punta Gruesa: frigate Independence and the Covadonga schooner.
The film is based on the memories of Commander Wenceslao Vargas, the last survivor of the Esmeralda (who was a simple cabin boy at the time), who relates the everyday life of a pre-naval combat board, no major developments which it could be a tense wait; however, the film reflects with great accuracy the combat itself, with some notable scenes, such as, among others, the bursting of the boilers of the Esmeralda, the Dantesque weather on the bridge during the battle and the final collapse of the ship.