The Settlers (2023 film)

The Settlers (Spanish: Los colonos) is a 2023 revisionist Western drama film directed by Felipe Gálvez Haberle (in his directorial debut), who co-wrote the script with Antonia Girardi in collaboration with Mariano Llinás. The film stars Mark Stanley, Camilo Arancibia, Benjamin Westfall, Alfredo Castro, Mishell Guaña, Sam Spruell, Marcelo Alonso and Adriana Stuven. It is a co-production between Chile, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, France, Denmark, Sweden and Germany.

The Settlers had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2023. It competed for Un Certain Regard and Caméra d'Or, and alongside those was honored with the FIPRESCI Prize, becoming the first Chilean production to win that award. It was selected as the Chilean entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

Synopsis 
In 1893, Segundo, a Chilean mestizo; MacLennan, an English army captain; and Bill, an American mercenary; embark on an expedition on horseback to delimit and reclaim the lands that the State has granted to José Menéndez. What appears to be an administrative expedition turns into a violent hunt for Onas, the natives of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

Cast 
 Camilo Arancibia as Segundo
 Benjamin Westfall as Bill
 Mark Stanley as Alexander MacLennan
 Alfredo Castro as José Menéndez
 Mishell Guaña as Kiepja
 Sam Spruell as Colonel Martin
 Marcelo Alonso as Vicuña
 Adriana Stuven as Josefina Menéndez
 Mariano Llinás as Francisco Moreno
 Agustín Rittano as Captain Ambrosio
 Emily Orueta as Granddaughter
 Luis Machín as Monseñor

Release

Festival 
It had its world premiere on 22 May 2023, at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. then it was screened on 12 August 2023, in the Fiction Competition section of the 27th Lima Film Festival and soon on 7 September 2023, in the Centerpiece section at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival.

Distribution 
MUBI announced that they have acquired distribution rights for multiple territories, including North America, Latin America, the UK, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Turkey, India, and the Benelux. They plan to release the film theatrically in the UK and the US.

Reception

Critical reception 
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Accolades

See also
 List of submissions to the 96th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
 List of Chilean submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

References

External links 

 

2023 films
2023 Western (genre) films
2023 drama films
Chilean Western (genre) films
Chilean drama films
2020s Spanish-language films
Argentine Western (genre) films
Argentine drama films
British Western (genre) films
British drama films
Taiwanese Western (genre) films
Taiwanese drama films
German Western (genre) films
German drama films
Swedish Western (genre) films
Swedish drama films
French Western (genre) films
French drama films
Danish Western (genre) films
Danish drama films
Revisionist Western (genre) films
Films set in the 1900s
Films set in Chile
Films shot in Chile
English-language Chilean films
Spanish-language French films
English-language Argentine films
English-language Taiwanese films
English-language German films
English-language Swedish films
English-language French films
English-language Danish films
2023 directorial debut films
2020s Chilean films
2020s Argentine films
2020s British films
2020s Taiwanese films
2020s German films
2020s Swedish films
2020s French films