Rent The Settlers (2023)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Debut writer-director Felipe Galvez asserts himself as a revelatory new cinematic voice with 'The Settlers', a searing and indelible take on the Western. Blending historical specificity with vivid visual style, this Cannes Un Certain Regard Fipresci Prize winner creates a singular immersive vision, arresting in both content and form. At the turn of the 20th century, three horsemen embark on an expedition across the Tierra del Fuego archipelago at the behest of a wealthy landowner, tasked with securing his vast state-appointed property. Accompanying a reckless British lieutenant and an American mercenary is mestizo marksman Segundo (Camilo Arancibia), who comes to realize, amidst rising tensions within the group, their true mission is to murderously "remove" the indigenous population - Actors:
- Sam Spruell, Mark Stanley, Alfredo Castro, Mariano Llinás, Benjamin Westfall, Marcelo Alonso, Luis Machín, Camilo Arancibia, Heinz K. Krattiger, Emily Orueta, Agustín Rittano, Mishell Guaña, Adriana Stuven
- Directors:
- Felipe Gálvez Haberle
- Producers:
- Stefano Centini, Benjamín Domenech, Santiago Gallelli, Thierry Lenouvel, Emily Morgan, Giancarlo Nasi, Matias Roveda
- Writers:
- Antonia Girardi, Felipe Gálvez Haberle, Mariano Llinás
- Aka:
- Los Colonos
- Studio:
- Mubi
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Drama
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 13/05/2024
- Run Time:
- 100 minutes
- Languages:
- English Audio Description Dolby Digital 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0
- Subtitles:
- English, English Hard of Hearing, Italian, Spanish, Turkish
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.50:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
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Reviews (1) of The Settlers
Fear and violence in 1890s Tierra del Fuego - The Settlers review by Philip in Paradiso
In 1893, in Tierra del Fuego, in the very south of Chile, Alexander MacLennan, a Scotsman who served in the British Army, oversees the fencing-off of the land for his employer, José Menéndez, a wealthy landowner who owns thousands of sheep. MacLennan is a very rough and violent man, and he plays the part of enforcer for his employer.
Menéndez asks the Scotsman to lead an expedition across the whole of his estate, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, on the Argentinian side of Tierra del Fuego. The aim will be to demarcate and reclaim the land. Menéndez makes it clear that, if MacLennan encounters any groups of Amerindians native to the region, they should be eliminated, as he considers that they are a threat to his sheep-raising business (he claims they kill and eat the sheep belonging to European settlers). The Scotsman sets off in the company of Bill, an American cowboy from Texas working for José Menéndez, and Segundo, who is mixed-blood (mestizo) and has been selected by MacLennan because he is a good shot.
The movie develops from there. In many respects, it is an odd, unconventional and unique film you are unlikely to ever forget, once you have seen it. There is something haunting and dark about it. That is, no doubt, linked to the eerie, bleak, mournful and wild landscapes of Tierra del Fuego (I assume it was filmed on location): endless moorland interspersed with forests, snow-capped mountains in the distance and, in places, moon-like scenery of utter desolation. You feel the vastness of this empty, or near-empty, wilderness, its power and its mystery. The music, also, is captivating and hard-hitting. All of this makes the narrative mesmerizing.
In other ways, the film is perhaps a bit frustrating, as not that much actually happens most of the time: there is something slow and deliberative about the pace of the story. And yet, there are several high points along the way, and the end of the movie, which I do not want to spoil for readers of this review, is as unexpected as it is masterful.
The film depicts, more than anything else, an atmosphere - an atmosphere of fear, menace and violence in the midst of this primeval natural world. The underlying theme, of course, is that of the white man purporting to bring Western civilisation, religion and values to the aboriginal population of Tierra del Fuego, deemed to be 'savages'. However, as the film shows, things are not that simple, and the 'savages' may not be those the settlers despise and slaughter so readily.
Overall, a weird and haunting film that I would recommend, but which may not be everyone's cup of tea.