Is the Western a dead genre? Not if Chilean director Felipe Gálvez has anything to do with it. Gálvez’s “The Settlers,” wowed audiences at the Cannes Film Festival this past May and won the Un Certain Regard FIPRESCI Prize in the process. Now it’s time for American audiences to see what all the fuss is about.
And forget about even the best revisionist Westerns: “The Settlers” is a searing indictment of colonialism and a meditation on how manifest destiny was not a solely North American enterprise. Galvez’s film follows three men hired by a wealthy landowner in Chile to secure his property. However, it soon becomes clear the men are being paid for a much more sinister purpose.
Here’s an official synopsis for “The Settlers,” courtesy of MUBI:
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, who comes to realize, amidst rising tensions within the group, their true mission is to murderously “remove” the indigenous population.
“The Settlers” stars Camilo Arancibia, Mark Stanley, and Benjamin Westfall. Other cast includes Alfredo Castro, Mishell Guaña, Sam Spruell, Marcelo Alonso, and Adriana Stuven.
Gálvez writes and directs “The Settlers,” his first film since 2021’s “The Great Movement.” Giancarlo Nasi, Benjamin Domenech, Katrin Pors, and Thierry Lenouvel produce the film. After “The Settlers” won the FIPRESCI prize at Cannes, it also screened at the Lima Film Festival in Peru and TIFF. The film is also Chile’s entry for Best International Feature Film for the 96th Academy Awards.
“The Settlers” hits theaters in NYC and LA on January 12, 2024. Watch a trailer for the film below.
