The Gaucho War
(La guerra gaucha)

Based on the classical homonym of the gauchecso literature (a genre dealing with the gaucho way of life and thinking) written by Leopoldo Lugones, this Argentine western is set in the 1820s, at a time when the gaucho guerrillas (supporters of Martín Güemes) were fighting the royalist army that opposed the independence already declared, but not recognised by the Crown. The historical reconstitution is epic, particularly the mobilisation of the armies during the battles. The unquestionably powerful mise-en-scène includes remarkable scenes, such as the intimate sequence, before a storm, between a royalist prisoner and a woman who supports the gauchos. This scene is what certainly places the story within the progressive tradition of Manuel Belgrano. RK