This TV movie was made to commemorate the 1986 Centennial of the Statue of Liberty, by telling the story of how she came into being through the story of her creator, Auguste Bartholdi, as well as the immigrants (one in particular) the statue was made for, the symbol of what America stood for (though through the actions of a lot of people, it's easy to doubt it).
Frank Langella does a good job playing Bartholdi. Though the character does get on your nerves at times, between his near obsession of the statue, neglect of his model/mistress (and later wife) Jeanne (Connie Touzet), who inspired the body of the statue and inability to break away from his mother's apron strings. Classic actress Claire Bloom plays the domineering mother who refuses to cut the cord.
His story alternates with that of French immigrant Jacques Marchant (Chris Sarandon), who arrives in America full of dreams he'll fight to make come true, though he does tend to be a bit pompous about it. I liked George Kennedy in the role of Seamus Reilly, the iron foundry owner who hires Jacques, and "Roots" fans will recognize LeVar Burton as Robert, Seamus's assistant. Both he, as a black man and Jacques, as an immigrant as well as being Jewish, endure their share of bigotry in a country that (ironically) is supposed to welcome everyone.
My favorite character was Moya, Seamus's niece (played by Dana Delaney), who falls for Jacques and strives to be the intellectual woman he seems to want, going from illiterate to learning to read, writing poetry, and visiting museums, galleries and concert halls to get educated and cultured. Jacques is at first a reluctant husband (having to make an honest woman out of her) and then a distant one, as he has an emotional affair with poet Emma Lazarus (Carrie Fisher), who keeps his amorous interests in check. He later comes to his senses, ironically after a two-year trip to France to help with the statue, where he finds absence does make the heart grow fonder.
The movie tries to tie the two stories together, but all the back-and-forth gets tiresome, and the way the connection comes about (damage to the statue's base that needs repair) seems a bit forced, too coincidental.
I'd have liked a movie about Emma Lazarus (Ms. Fisher could have played the part again) and how she came to write one of America's most famous poems. It was recited in its entirety in the film and could make a film in itself.
Not a bad movie, but not one of the best TV history has to offer.
