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In the winter of 1862, during the Civil War
The Army sends a volunteer company to patrol the uncharted Western territories.. Minervini had the set built in Montana, then let the cast live in it for two months. The dialogues and thoughts expressed are the ones the actors came up with while living in the wilderness imagining being soldiers in the Civil War.
All lacking in military experience, They share knowledge and skills are transferred
we're not told where it is, we don't even find out the names of the soldiers. After the regular troops head off, they are under the command of a John Brown style patriarch with a flowing beard, whose teenage sons have also enlisted. The troops are a mixed lot, some middle aged, even old, most in their thirties.
We witnessed mobile sentries, potshots at distant riders
A buffalo is shot and butchered, The bleak landscape, hills, mountain meadows, the drifting snow, the cold rations running low all add to a developing sense of existential despair. A battle takes place, we don't see the enemy, we do see the unit's casualties. War is hell, especially when you don't know why you're there anymore.
Some of which outstay their welcome
Very much a Ken Loach style film with no set dialogue from day to day and many ordinary people acting, amateur like the soldiers. This improvisation leads to philosophical, religious and political discussions around campfires. But it's a minor distraction from this raw portrayal of men at war.
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