The Settlers
Felipe Gálvez’s deeply critical Chilean drama centres on the genocide of the Selk’nam people in the early 20th century.
Alfredo Castro and Mark Stanley
The Chilean filmmaker Felipe Gálvez sometimes known as Felipe Gálvez Haberle is 41-years-old but this is his first feature film. That it was nominated as Chile’s contender for the 2024 Oscars confirms that this newcomer has been able to give us a work of some distinction. As for the film’s concerns, some critics have described it as being akin to a western. But, even if some details explain that viewpoint, it is a misleading description. The Settlers is concerned with Patagonia’s colonial past and in particular with the genocide of the Selk’nam people referred to by the whites as the Ona. In the context of other recent films, the nearest comparison is undoubtedly with Killers of the Flower Moon although Gálvez has opted for a much more conventional length (101 minutes).
The film is set mainly in Tierra del Fuego and begins in 1901. The narrative is divided into four titled sections and is in a sense a microcosm of what befell the Selk’nam since in essence it tells their story through a handful of characters. The context was one in which wealthy white landowners such as José Menéndez (Alfredo Castro) were extending their land and opening up a route all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in order to enhance their sheep trade. It was a project in which men acting for Menéndez would readily kill and rape the indigenous people that they encountered and who stood in their way. The two leaders working in this way are an ex-soldier from Scotland - that’s Alexander MacLennan (Mark Stanley) - and an American mercenary named Bill (Benjamin Westfall).
Although Menéndez is the chief villain of the piece, his appearances in the film are limited and it is MacLennan and Bill who are central along with one other figure who is, in fact, the only sympathetic character seen for the greater part of the film. This man is a half-breed named Segundo (Camilo Arancibia) who, being a good shot, is accordingly employed along with the other two. When in due course he realises that violence is being perpetrated on the Selk’nam he tries to hold off but is powerless to prevent it and feels some guilt in consequence. Others encountered include another Scot with his own men, Colonel Martin (Sam Spruell), and another military man, Captain Ambrosio (Agustin Rittano). Both are again deeply unpleasant people who relish being in a macho environment. But when Segundo meets and eventually marries a native girl (Mishell Guaña) the film finds at least one other central character who earns our sympathy.
The Settlers is largely a film in which the viewers remain observers. In part that stems from having so few characters for whom we can care but also from the stress on landscape and on the way in which the narrative unfolds. The tale being told contains events that are properly horrifying but thankfully Gálvez avoids handling them in an exploitative way (in one scene native killings occur swathed in mist). However, it also means that in spite of having an able music score by Harry Allouche that sometimes uses drums to menacing effect the film never scales dramatic heights. The somewhat distanced approach is maintained in the last of the film’s four sections which jumps forward some seven years and is located in Punta Arenas. The title here ‘The Red Pig’ refers to Alexander MacLennan (this is historically how he became known) but he is an absent figure now even though there is much talk of the atrocities committed by him. This section does bring back Menéndez and that is useful since Castro is on strong form and it also features a government official (Marcelo Alonso). In time their talk leads on to scenes which reveal the fate of Segundo and the film subtly indicates that what is being said about things changing is largely illusionary. It's a somewhat off-beat conclusion to a film which makes its points without fully drawing one in. But what does connect deeply with the viewer is the appealing performance of Camilo Arancibia as Segundo. He is the heart of the film.
Original title: Los colonos.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Mark Stanley, Benjamin Westfall, Camilo Arancibia, Sam Spruell, Alfredo Castro, Mariano Llinás, Marcelo Alonso, Luis Machin, Agustin Rittano, Adriana Stuven, Emily Orueta, Henry K. Krattiger, Mishell Guaña.
Dir Felipe Gálvez, Pro Giancarlo Nasi, Thierry Lenouvel, Benjamin Doménech, Santiago Gallelli, Matias Roveda, Stefano Centini and Emily Morgan, Screenplay Felipe Gálvez and Antonia Girardi with Mariano Llinás, Ph Simone D’Arcangelo, Pro Des Sebastián Orgambide, Ed Matthieu Taponier, Music Harry Allouche, Costumes Muriel Parra.
Quijote Films/Rei Cine/Quiddity Films/Snowglobe Films/Volos Films Co/Film i Väst- Mubi.
101 mins. Chile/Argentina/UK/Taiwan/Germany/Sweden/France/Denmark. 2023. UK Rel: 9 February 2024. Cert. 15.
