12/39

Minervini built the set in Montana, then let the cast live in it for two months

Scenario

In the winter of 1862, during the Civil War, the US Army sent a company of volunteers to patrol the unexplored western territories.. The dialogues and thoughts expressed are what the actors came up with while living in the wilderness imagining themselves as soldiers in the civil war. we are not told where it is, we do not even learn the names of the soldiers.

We witness mobile sentinels, strikes at distant riders

After the regular troops leave, under the command of a John Brown-style patriarch with a flowing beard, his teenage sons enlist. The bands are a mixed lot, some middle-aged, even old, most in their thirties. All without military experience, They share knowledge and skills are transferred.

War is hell, especially when you don’t know why you’re there

A buffalo is shot and slaughtered, The bleak landscape, the hills, the mountain meadows, the drifting snow, the cold running rations all contribute to a developing sense of existential despair. A battle takes place, we don’t see the enemy, we see the casualties of the unit. A Ken Loach-esque film with no set dialogues from day to day and lots of regular people playing actors, amateurs like soldiers.

Some of them are not welcome

This improvisation leads to philosophical, religious and political discussions around campfires. But it’s a minor distraction from this raw image of men at war. Written and directed by Roberto Minervini, 8/10.