At the turn of the 20th century, three horsemen embark on an expedition across the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, tasked with securing a wealthy landowner’s vast 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. A revelatory take on the Western from debut writer-director Felipe Gálvez. (Chile’s Best International Feature Film entry to the 96th Academy Awards, and Cannes Un Certain Regard, New York Film Festival and TIFF selection.)
“A scorching Western on Chile’s blood-soaked national myth…. The imposingly assured debut feature from writer-director Felipe Gálvez falls somewhere in between Jennifer Kent’s THE NIGHTINGALE and Lucrecia Martel’s ZAMA by way of John Ford’s THE SEARCHERS.” —Carlos Aquilar, The Playlist “Not many directorial debuts start with this level of confidence and care into the craft and subject matter…Through its bleak beautiful cinematography and its off-kilter score that never wavers, THE SETTLERS is a riveting piece of work that will be among the year’s best films.” —Kevin Lee, Film Inquiry “Felipe Gálvez's masterful debut offers an alternative artistic road map for dealing with historical horrors… It’s one of the most chilling art-Westerns to come along in some time, as provocative for its ideas, dialogue, and characterizations, as for the beauty of its empty landscapes.” —Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire “Gálvez’s work here is by turns blunt and subtle, and very assured.” —Manohla Dargis, NYT Critic’s Pick, New York Times “Not just an account of historical events, it's a national reckoning with a barbaric past. The fact that THE SETTLERS is shot with such piercing beauty intensifies its message.” —Sheila O’Malley, rogerebert.com
