The Chaco War, a dispute between Bolivia and Paraguay between 1932-35, received an important early coverage by Argentinean filmmaker Roque
Funes. The territorial conflict presents Paraguay's point of view with the first battles, military campaigns, the treatment of the wounded
soldiers, and the many encouragments received by authorities and the nation's president.
"In the Hell of Chaco" has a significant importance of presenting an early register from Paraguay's cinema, one of the few surviving films from the period and the war was covered in other projects as well, and also an important register of a then-ungoing war in South America, a rare event for the whole territory during the 20th century.
Seeing the project is so-and-so, as it gets tiring for a while, and there are times it gives the impression of not being a documentary but rather something specifically acted. Maybe we have to take into consideration that it's a mix of both, as we watch some moments from the battles, the planes used in it - though we never seen them much in action.
While the titles detail everything we're seeing, we are shielded a little from the exact nature of the territorial conflict, and it gets a biased position since it tells one side of the story without following the other, and several times there's a propaganda style showing praise for the Paraguyan military.
Must say that it's visually impressive for its period and for being a magnificent example of powerful South American cinema from an early period, both for its report, some memorable and haunting images - a wounded soldier being treated, with his stomach receiving a series of stitches is unforgettable; the nurses devotion; and the animated maps presenting the conflict's location. A must-see classic for enthusiasts of silent documentaries. 6/10.
"In the Hell of Chaco" has a significant importance of presenting an early register from Paraguay's cinema, one of the few surviving films from the period and the war was covered in other projects as well, and also an important register of a then-ungoing war in South America, a rare event for the whole territory during the 20th century.
Seeing the project is so-and-so, as it gets tiring for a while, and there are times it gives the impression of not being a documentary but rather something specifically acted. Maybe we have to take into consideration that it's a mix of both, as we watch some moments from the battles, the planes used in it - though we never seen them much in action.
While the titles detail everything we're seeing, we are shielded a little from the exact nature of the territorial conflict, and it gets a biased position since it tells one side of the story without following the other, and several times there's a propaganda style showing praise for the Paraguyan military.
Must say that it's visually impressive for its period and for being a magnificent example of powerful South American cinema from an early period, both for its report, some memorable and haunting images - a wounded soldier being treated, with his stomach receiving a series of stitches is unforgettable; the nurses devotion; and the animated maps presenting the conflict's location. A must-see classic for enthusiasts of silent documentaries. 6/10.