Salpêtre sanglant

I saw this movie in the summer of 1970 on westgerman TV, in a dubbed to German version. I believe the German TV titled this movie : DER SALPETER KRIEG.

I found this movie very impressive at my age of 15, and I still remember a few key scenes. A young tenente (lieutenant) leading a platoon of chilean soldiers In the Atacama desert against a perubian - bolvian foe, in the 1860's. Doing house to house searches, fouraging for food and water, having a few firefights with local milicia. Some soldiers voicing doubts about their mission, some retain a patriotic stance. Various characters from very different walks of life , well portrait. The acting was superb. The movie ends with a dramatic climax and a futile patriotic message, somehow fatalistic . Very much en vogue with the contemporary anti war message of the period. A very underrated and overlooked gem, this movie deserves an international DVD release.

The Pacific War (1879-1883) put the Chileans against the allied of Perú and Bolivia. Nowadays, this subject still divides our countries (I´m Chilean). "Caliche Sangriento" shows us the adventure of a group of Chilean soldiers lost in the Atacama's desert. During this journey, the Captain (Duvauchelle) and the Lieutenant (Vadell) argue about the real reasons who led Chile into the war. It was not homeland´s defense, but economical interest. This point of view made quite an impression in Chile, and this movie was intended to be forbidden. More than a war movie, this is more like a western one. We have desert, great spaces, tough guys, honour conflict and some bullets. "Caliche Sangriento" is one of the best Chilean films.

History does not occur in the Atacama desert (Chile) but in the desert of Moquegua (Peru).