Roberto Minervini
I dannati

By now, the flood of war-themed news has been with us for so long, too long, and there is a risk of not paying much attention to it, almost as if it were any background noise coming from remote areas far from where we live. However, fortunately, when a film like "I dannati" by Roberto Minervini comes out, there is an opportunity to look war in the face for how it impacts the people involved. This is not the only film that tackles such a weighty theme, but it is certainly welcome in these dark times, forgetful of the past.

Minervini already has films with a documentary approach to his credit, but here he creates a fictional film where nothing is left to fantasy, focusing instead on representing the torment of a group of soldiers on the front line. The action takes place in the winter of 1862 during the American Civil War. A platoon of Union soldiers is sent to explore the wilderness of the Northwest (i.e., the state of Montana).

Avoiding the use of bombastic special effects, the director closely follows these soldiers as they march through unexplored areas, eventually clashing in a firefight with Confederate rivals (not shown during the ambush). The clash leaves victims on the ground, but the mission continues until a bewildering finale, with the survivors being the sergeant and a soldier, now exhausted within a dense snowy forest.

A very concise story, rendered in a sober yet dialogue-rich manner among the marching soldiers. It is here that the confusion of the military men, who enlisted voluntarily for various reasons, emerges. There are not only those driven by an ideal (in this case, aversion to the slavery present in parts of the USA). Some believe they are fighting with God on their side (a recurring idea in past history, as if involving the Almighty could make war acceptable). Then there are those who think they need to wield a weapon and kill to prove they are now men (quite some consolation!), as well as those convinced that enlisting in the army could open up a bright future. And all this exchange of opinions unfolds in a very tense atmosphere, as everyone fears that their remaining time could suddenly end, due to a well-positioned sniper who kills with ruthless precision.

And it is impressive to see the number of soldiers dwindling as they march towards a distant goal, in an undefined situation where something could happen but it is not known when or how (much like the vague anticipation of the characters in Buzzati's novel "The Tartar Steppe").

But above all this looms the relentless natural habitat (in this case, the wind and snow in the Montana woods). This reference to the natural order following its course is inspired by what is present in a remarkable film like "The Thin Red Line" by Terence Malick. In both films, the human propensity to kill in war remains in the background of a natural order that follows its eternal rhythm.

If men cannot stop and reflect on the harm they inflict on each other, while the cosmos continues indifferently, well, then it makes me think that the human race manages to be superfluous to nature itself.