“In the beginning, there was chaos”
It’s difficult to really put a finger on what Tiago Hespanha’s Campo is really trying to say. Set in a shooting range in Alcochete (the largest military base in Europe), the film can be best pitched as a mirage of images, a collage of fragments of everyday life within an unconventional setting. Campo covers plenty of topics, themes, and motifs, utilizing elements such as birth, death, war, music, and celebration as means for artistic and visual expression. Some of these subjects also include astronomy, military dictation and action, and the principles of greek mythology, which ultimately helps reflect the culture of the very military base the film is depicting, through it’s obscure tranquil nature.
Deliberately glacial and contemplative, Campo is one hell of an out of body experience, that’s less of a documentary in the traditional sense of the word, and more of a sensorial ride of body and soul. Albeit the film’s confused focus, relying on too many ulterior subjects in one film, there’s plenty of mesmerizing images and sounds presented here, that will leave audiences stunned with overwhelming beauty.
Campo is set to be screened at this year’s Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival, as part of the Animal Magnetism program, on the following dates:
Thursday, April 25th – 5:45 PM – TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
Friday, April 26th – 12:15 PM – Scotiabank Theatre 3
On The Clock 