Theatre of War

The Malvinas/Falklands War lasted just 74 days, but such a short conflict can still have far-reaching consequences. By June 1982, when Argentina reluctantly admitted defeat and the Falklands remained under British rule, nearly 1,000 soldiers had lost their lives. For the soldiers on either side of the battle lines, some of them still in their teens, the impact was intense. Thirty-five years later, they are gray-haired veterans with reading glasses and oppressive memories of war.

The Argentine artist and filmmaker Lola Arias brings a group of these men together in front of the camera as part of a conceptual multimedia project, which also includes the acclaimed play Minefield. Short scenes create a theatrical framework for three Argentine and three British veterans to confront their memories, each other and the war that binds them. The artificial and self-aware style encourages us to ask some important questions. How does war affect a person’s life? How do you give shape to memories, and how do you communicate them to others?