In a moment where war seems to permeate every element of our lives, celebrated Italian-born, American-based filmmaker Roberto Minervini upends both the historical war genre and the Western with a quiet and spare approach, at once philosophical and radically humane. Informed by his previous films made in the American South, where he lived for a decade — in which dramatized and observational elements are compellingly entangled — THE DAMNED embeds itself within a troupe of volunteer Union soldiers dispatched by the U.S. Army to the western territories during the winter of 1862. A pivotal year for the gold rush as well as the ongoing Civil War, these uncharted borderlands were rife with historical significance, promise and unseen menace.
Shot in the wilds of Montana with a small ensemble of non-professional actors — many cast from within the vicinity — whose extemporized dialogue largely stems from personal experience, THE DAMNED portrays war as a profoundly intimate and disorienting journey. Stripping conflict to its essence — with lonely, anxiety-inducing stretches of waiting to kill or be killed — set against great, gorgeous expanses Minervini captures with stunning immediacy an intense sense of physicality and the attendant psychological strain.
From their largely marginal positions, these intergenerational mercenaries enter into deep reflection about their mission, raising questions about religion, masculinity, individual hopes, and governance with disarming candour and bracing contemporaneity. While the film’s narrative framework is rooted in a major turning point in American history, its meditation on nation-building and human agency, as well as its uncanny and ruptured sense of time, speak to our loaded present. (Synopsis courtesy of Toronto International Film Festival 2024 Program Guide)
“More akin to a mood poem than a war movie…. THE DAMNED relies on improvised dialogue and a resolute refusal to manufacture tension or good guy-bad guy distinctions. The style is impressionistic and minimalist: Sometimes the only illumination is a flaming torch, the only color Union blue, the only soundtrack the howling of wolves…. As we once again experience a painfully divided nation, we’re also occupying a cinematic space between the past of THE DAMNED and the near-future schism of Alex Garland’s CIVIL WAR (2024). In that space, we can clearly see how far we have come and how little we have learned.” —Jeanette Catsoulis, NYT Critic’s Pick, New York Times “Roberto Minervini’s THE DAMNED continues the Italian helmer’s career-long examination of the rifts and affinities between overlooked segments of American society…. Makes a welcome addition to an oeuvre consistently attuned to the way Americans think about faith, class and community, whether or not the Americans in question realize it themselves.” —Peter Debruge, Variety “A resolute anti-blockbuster that dares to de-escalate the Civil War movie…. It’s a beautiful, meditative thing.” —Michael Atkinson, Village Voice
