The Damned

In the frigid winter months of 1862, a group of soldiers volunteer to patrol the Western territories’ unchartered borders during the American Civil War.

With The Damned, Italian director Roberto Minervini (What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?) imagines the daily lives of this particular troop, be it hunting and disembowelling wildlife or washing hair in the local rivers. Through asking and answering questions like “What must it have been like for them to teach each other about weapons and ammunition?” or rehashing empty prayers for breakfast, lunch and dinner, an attempt is made to remove war as something abstract found in history books to a tangible and dreary reality for the festival’s predominantly Western audience. Unfortunately, the deadly conflicts currently raging around the globe render this extensive excursion into the past somewhat futile.

Even though the feature clocks in a runtime of only 88 minutes, it feels substantially longer due to its sauntering tempo and eschewal of a direct narrative. The Damned comes closest to stirring up emotions in the viewer in its moments of silence, when the imagery is allowed to speak for itself. The concentration on using natural light creates images such as the flickering shadows of flames on actors’ faces when their characters walk through the dark forests, only armed with their torches. The stretches of uncommented action, however, are frequently broken up by scenes of the men sitting together and sharing their thoughts on religion, family and the purpose of war, like campfire stories. The long monologues wouldn’t feel out of place on a theatrical stage, but they rarely contribute to the radical realism the imagery so desperately tries to convey.

Perhaps to school classes being educated on this part of American history, The Damned has something lasting to offer. Both cinephiles and casual moviegoers, however, will find themselves left cold.

Selina Sondermann

The Damned does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Cannes Film Festival 2024 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Cannes Film Festival website here.