The Settlers (2023)

Welcome back for another installment of Mubi Monday! This week we are taking a look at a film that was the 2023 Chilean submission for Best International Feature Film. It’s a wild ride, so saddle up as we dive into…The Settlers (2023).

Title: The Settlers

Director: Felipe Gálvez

Released: May 22, 2023 (Cannes Film Festival)

Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes

Available to stream: Exclusively on Mubi (Here’s a month on me!)

We begin in late 19th century Chile, immediately exposed to its beautiful landscapes. During this time, colonization is running rampant and still molding the country. One of the Spanish oligarchs who is staking their claim to land is José Menéndez (Alfredo Castro). Menéndez decides to hire surveyors to map out and “clear” his territory in the Tierra del Fuego region. We come to understand quickly that the term “clearing” denotes the removal of Indigenous peoples from land now claimed by Menéndez through extermination.

The leader of this group is a Scottish ex-soldier by the name of Alexander MacLennan (Stanley). When we first meet MacLennan, he’s riding over to a fallen chain-gang worker who has just lost his arm in a freak accident while working on fencing. The man pleads for help and not to die. However, in the words of MacLennan, “One less arm is one less man”. MacLennan’s chilling statement is followed by him shooting and killing the man.

MacLennan hand picks a mixed-race Chilean named Segundo (Arancibia) to join him on the assignment. While it might not be a popular pick amongst the other Europeans, turns out Segundo is one hell of a shot with a rifle. Instantly we can feel the tension and distrust present between Segundo and MacLennan.

Rounding out the group is an American mercenary named Bill (Westfall). MacLennan didn’t choose Bill; instead, Menéndez assigned him to join. To no one’s surprise, Menéndez found the idea of Segundo partaking in all of this neither pleasing nor impressive.

As the three embark on their journey, there is a deep level of skepticism amongst them. None of them are comfortable enough with each other to figure out of if they can trust one another. With everyone having their own reasons to keep their head on a swivel, it makes it tough to see any sort of bonding happening on this trip.

More importantly though, if it comes down to a life-or-death scenario, where will alliances fall?

Two things about The Settlers (2023) that instantly stand out to me are the cinematography and the score. Simone D’Arcangelo shot this in a way that is able to paint the picture of the beauty of the Chilean landscape while also illustrating how vast and rugged it can be. He also manages to take the simplest of images and somehow present it in such a way that leaves a haunting impression on you.

As for the music, Harry Allouche delivers a score that is clean, loud, and percussion forward. The score here is able to, on its own, create a nervous tension that remains for a good portion of the film. Combine the score with the cinematography and you have visions of spaghetti westerns coming to mind.

Except, as we learn, this is anything but your typical western.

I am all for colonialism being called out for the disgusting atrocity that it is. This time around it was Chile’s turn to have a go at it. And for this being his feature directorial debut, Felipe Gálvez comes out swinging. While there are some violent moments shown on screen, a lot of the horror of The Settlers (2023) comes from the atmosphere that is carefully crafted throughout. Knowing the implications of some things without having to see the outcomes, certain words/sentences being allowed to hang there for an extra moment, or even descriptions where the only accompanying images are the emotions on a character’s face, all of these build an unsettling atmosphere and deliver a message without having to be visually graphic or explicit.

However, the one issue I had with The Settlers (2023) was the final act. Yes, I am glad that we got to jump forward in time and see how things played out for everyone involved. The problem being that it didn’t feel like it fit together with the first two acts. While I can appreciate the jarring tonal shift, this is a rare occasion where I would advocate for the movie being longer. If there had been an extra ten to fifteen minutes to help bridge the gap between acts two and three, it might have helped make all three acts feel like a cohesive whole.

Is that enough for me to recommend avoiding The Settlers (2023)?

Absolutely not. It certainly is worthy of at least one viewing, if not more.

Well, those are my thoughts, but what are yours?

If you’ve seen The Settlers (2023) tell me what you thought in the comments below or on social media!

As always, you can keep up with everything else that I’ve been watching over on my Letterboxd page.