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, a Scottish veteran, 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. The Selk'nam genocide lies at the core of the film.

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

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.

Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 55 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".