Cándido López - Los campos de batalla

This documentary go through the trail of Cándido López, a voluntary soldier from Buenos Aires province who went to fight against Paraguayans in 1860s decade. He was promoted as lieutenant because he was able to read and write, though he was inexpert with arms. But he became famous because he painted the war actions he was witness. His pictures are exposed in Argentine history museums. Cándido López lost his right arm in Curupaity battle, and he had to train the remaining arm for finishing his work in Buenos Aires. He couldn't see the last battles of the war, that finished with the death of Mariscal Francisco Solano Lopez, Paraguay's leader, and the killing of the most of Paraguayan over 10-years-old men by Argentine and Brazilian troops. The film shows the way of Cándido López with Argentine troops, trying to find the sceneries of the terrible battles he painted. The director interviews some inhabitants of that places, some of them old people that remembered their grandparents' tales about that war. Interviews were made in Spanish, Portuguese, Guaraní and English, to people reflecting different viewpoints about that historical events.

Poor research, bad acting, sloppy editing and substantial historical inaccuracies are just a few of the many flaws of this virtually unbearable documentary. This Argentinian production does not do credit to their booming film industry, nor does it do justice to a serious and important topic of South American history: the War of the Triple Alliance (aka. Paraguayan War). The film has no plot, no purpose and is hardly informative. At best, it is a naive attempt at reconstructing the brutal reality of war. Even the camera work is sloppy and you often find yourself asking "what in heaven's name are they going on about?". The highlight of the film is a quick spot on a poor Paraguayan family that turns a mutt into a dalmatian by dying block dots on his white fur. Can you find a connection with a 19th century South American war? I didn't think so! Save your money and time!