This season—like all seasons—is a good season, but only if we know how to drain it, colonists everywhere thought, leaving no bloodless nostril and corner of the planet untouched. Because colonialists of all ages, from antiquity to the deep future, know that the best tactic is to take advantage of the weakness of others.
With the film “The Settlers”, we are transported to 19th century Chile, where three horsemen, Santiago, a Chilean migas, a British soldier and an American mercenary, are recruited by a wealthy landowner for a routine task: the demarcation of his vast territory his estate and the drawing of a safe route for his herds. As they embark on their administrative mission, the landscape unfolds before us, highlighting the beauty and ruggedness of South America’s western frontier.
However, the seemingly mundane task takes a dark turn as the horsemen find themselves embroiled in a violent conflict with the natives who inhabit the area. What begins as a simple search soon turns into a bloody hunt, with the landowner’s men relentlessly hunting down the native population. Tensions escalate as cultural clashes and power struggles come to the fore, painting a shocking picture of colonial expansion and its devastating effects on indigenous communities.
In The Settlers, the bloody hunt for the natives intensifies as the conflict reaches its climax. The landowner’s men, fueled by greed and abysmal audacity, relentlessly pursue their prey in the inhospitable terrain of the Chilean desert.
Amidst the chaos and violence, the Horsemen are forced to confront their morality and complicity in the atrocities unfolding around them. Loyalties are tested, alliances are forged and dissolved, and the line between hunter and hunted becomes increasingly blurred.
The natives, portrayed as hunted prey in this relentless pursuit, become more than mere obstacles in the settlers’ path. They are presented as stalwart defenders of their ancestral lands, fighting against the invasion of foreign invaders with every fiber of their being.
As the stakes rise and the death toll mounts, the true cost of conquest and colonization is revealed, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. “The Settlers,” offers a faithful portrayal of the human toll of imperialism and the enduring legacy of violence in the pursuit of power and control.
Set among the majestic landscapes of South America’s western frontier, the film delves into the complexities of the exercise of power and the brutal reality of conquest. Against a backdrop of wild terrain and untamed wilderness, the riders struggle with their own moral compasses as they navigate the murky waters of loyalty, greed and justice.
South American Western (FIPRESCI Award “A Certain Look” at this year’s Cannes Film Festival), Chile’s official submission to the 96th Oscars. Felipe Gálvez (1983) is a Chilean director, writer and editor based in Paris. “The Settlers” is his first feature film. His short films have been awarded by festivals around the world.
The film “The Settlers” aims to immerse us in the heart of a dark chapter of Chilean history with the enchanting mixture of Western aesthetics and painful realism, all against the background of the late 19th century in Chile.
One of the film’s greatest strengths lies in Galvez’s masterful handling of genre conventions. Through visually beautiful images and an elementally mystical atmosphere, it reveals the atrocities committed by the Spanish landowners against the natives of Chile. The slow pace of the narrative serves to heighten the rising tension, while the harsh, crudely realistic depiction of violence leaves an indelible impact.
The filmmaker’s directorial prowess shines through in the film’s intriguing visual style, which captures the wild beauty of the Chilean landscape while underscoring the horror unfolding within it. The mystifying atmosphere and a starkly realistic portrayal of cruelty draws us deeper into the moral dilemmas of the characters and the harsh reality of conquest and subjugation.
However, despite its many advantages “The Settlers” are not free from weaknesses, the characters e.g. while they effectively convey the moral complexity of their situation, they can seem somewhat underdeveloped at times, leaving certain motivations and relationships ambiguous.
The Settlers, however, ultimately stands as a powerful testimony to the enduring legacy of colonialism and its devastating impact on indigenous communities. With its neo-western perspective, slow-burning pacing, and relentless depiction of violence, Felipe Gálvez’s directorial debut marks him as a director to watch out for.
Treating another human being as if they are expendable is inhumane. But starting on the other side of the world, only to find people powerless to exploit, drain and destroy, is the definition of evil.
#Settlers #Frontiers #Enforcement