19/27
In the winter of 1862, during the Civil War, the U.S. Army sends a group of volunteers to patrol the uncharted territories of the West. Minervini built the set in Montana and let the actors live on it for two months. The dialogue and thoughts presented are those that came to the actors while living in the desert, imagining themselves as soldiers in the Civil War. The Damned: In the winter of 1862, a volunteer unit of Union soldiers is sent to defend a mountainous region, we are not told where it is, we do not even find out the names of the soldiers. After the actual troops leave, they are commanded by a John Brown-style patriarch with a bushy beard, and his teenage sons have also enlisted. The troops are a mixed bunch, some middle-aged, even old, most in their thirties. They do not all have military experience, they share knowledge and transfer their skills. We witness guards moving, occasional shots fired at distant riders. Buffalo being shot and chopped up. The bleak landscape, the hills, the mountain meadows, the drifting snow, the cold rations running out, all add to the sense of existential despair. The battle develops, we don’t see the enemy, but we see the casualties of the unit. War is hell, especially when you no longer know why you’re there. A very Ken Loach-style film, with no established daily dialogue and many ordinary people behaving like amateurs, like the soldiers. This improvisation leads to philosophical, religious and political discussions around the campfire. Some of them are welcome, but they are a minor distraction from this stark depiction of men at war. Written and directed by Roberto Minervini, 8/10.