Winter 1862. The Northwest frontier, the United States. At the height of the American Civil War, a regiment of Union soldiers patrol the desolate landscape. The men come from different ages and backgrounds, often with unlikely reasons for joining the army. They get into occasional disorienting skirmishes with the enemy, losing numbers each time. For the most part, though, they wander lost, confused, and becoming despondent to their cause.

Robert Minervini’s debut narrative feature, which won the Best Director award in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival this year, is an exercise in stylised naturalism reminiscent of Terrence Malick and Kelly Reichardt. Carried by a cast of non-professional actors, The Damned is a subversive take on both the brutality and futility of war. It strips the war film of machismo and instils in its place a bleak yet humanist spirituality.

- Muhammed Deshmukh

In collaboration with Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Mumbai.