38/23
In the winter of 1862, during the Civil War, the US Army sends a company of volunteers to patrol the uncharted western territories. Minervini built a set in Montana and let the actors live there for two months. The spoken dialogue and thoughts are those that the actors encountered while living in the wilderness, in the imagination of Civil War soldiers. Damned: In the winter of 1862, a volunteer unit of Union soldiers is sent to protect the mountainous regions, we are not told where it is, we do not even know the names of the soldiers. Once the regular troops are on the move, they are commanded by a bearded patriarch in the style of John Brown, with his teenage sons in the army. The teams are mixed, there are people of middle age, even older, most in their thirties. All without military experience, they share knowledge and pass on skills. We witness mobile guards, shots at distant riders. A buffalo is shot and slaughtered. The bleak landscape, the hills, the mountain meadows, the drifts of snow, the dwindling cold meals, all add to the sense of existential despair. There’s a battle going on, we don’t see the enemy, just the losses of the unit. War is hell, especially when you no longer know why you’re there. It’s mostly a Ken Loach-style film, with no daily dialogue and lots of ordinary people acting, amateurs like the soldiers. This improvisation leads to philosophical, religious and political discussions around campfires. Some of them overstay their welcome. But that’s only a minor annoyance in the raw portrayal of men at war. Written and directed by Roberto Minervini, 8/10.