The Settlers
Los Colonos
International Panorama: Chile
This must-see Chilean film was the worthy winner of the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes 2023.
94% - Rotten Tomatoes
Los Colonos
Chile, 1901. Three horsemen embark on an expedition, tasked with securing a wealthy landowner's vast property. Accompanying a reckless British lieutenant (Sam Spruell) and an American mercenary (Mark Stanley) is mestizo (half European, half native American) marksman Segundo (Camilo Arancibia), who comes to realize their true mission is to violently "remove" the indigenous population.
This ‘Western’ is shot with an intense beauty leaving the viewer with a stronger understanding of the message delivered by the director – amazingly, his first feature. It is a striking but bleak portrayal of colonization and genocide, but there is integrity to its brutality, and an important point waiting in its curveball of a final act.