Wikipedia

The Damned (2024 Minervini film)

The Damned is a 2024 drama film written and directed by Roberto Minervini. Set in 1862 against the backdrop of the American Civil War, the film follows a group of volunteer Union soldiers.[1]

The Damned
Directed byRoberto Minervini
Screenplay byRoberto Minervini
Produced byPaolo Benzi
Denise Ping Lee
Roberto Minervini
Paolo Del Brocco
Starring
  • René W. Solomon
  • Jeremiah Knupp
  • Noah Carlson
  • Tim Carlson
CinematographyCarlos Alfonso Corral
Edited byMarie-Hélène Dozo
Music byCarlos Alfonso Corral
Production
companies
Distributed byLes Films du Losange
Release date
  • 16 May 2024 (2024-05-16) (Cannes)
Running time
88 minutes
Countries
  • Italy
  • United States
  • Belgium
LanguageEnglish

The film had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, on 16 May 2024. Where it won the Best Director award.[2]

Plot

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The Damned follows a group of volunteer Union soldiers as they patrol territory in the western United States.[3]

Cast

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  • René W. Solomon as Scout
  • Jeremiah Knupp as Scout
  • Noah Carlson as Scout
  • Tim Carlson as Sergeant
  • Cuyler Ballenger as Scout

Production

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Although director Minervini was born in Italy and lives in New York City, he resided in Texas for a decade and created a number of films about the region that blur the lines between documentary and narrative filmmaking.[4] The Damned serves as Minervini's first traditional narrative feature.

Minervini began developing The Damned in 2020. He travelled to Helena, Montana the following year and spoke to members of the National Guard about participating in the film. He also involved previous collaborators such as Tim Carson.[5]

The cast and crew established a campground in Montana and allowed locals to come and go to be a part of the film. The team worked without a script and shot in chronological order.[5]

Release

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The Damned premiered on 16 May 2024 in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.[6] It has also been selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 as part of the World Cinema section.[7]

Reception

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Critical reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10.[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[9]

Film critic Carlo Valeri on Sentieri Selvaggi [it] described it as "an ambitious counter-history of the United States carried out by the Italian director all along,"[10] while Elisa Battistini on Quinlan points out that it is "a work that with great brilliance deals with war and its absurdity."[11] Gian Luca Pisacane on Cinematografo.it [it] also notes that "Minervini abandons the documentary, but does not lose the political, social gaze that has always characterized him."[12]

Accolades

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Award Ceremony date Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 24 May 2024 Un Certain Regard Roberto Minervini Nominated [6]
Un Certain Regard – Best Director[a] Won [13]
Mediterrane Film Festival 30 June 2024 Main Competition - Best Cinematography Carlos Alfonso Corral Won [14]

Notes

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  1. ^ Shared with Rungano Nyoni for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.

References

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  1. ^ Ntim, Zac. "Veteran Documentary Filmmaker Roberto Minervini On Making His First Narrative Feature With Civil War Drama 'The Damned' & How Sociopolical "Division" In The U.S. Fuels His Work – Cannes Studio". Deadline. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  2. ^ "The Damned". Cannes Film Festival. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  3. ^ Vivarelli, Nick. "Roberto Minervini on Making His Naturalistic U.S. Civil War Drama 'The Damned' While the 'Rust' Shooting Tragedy Broke – Trailer". Variety. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  4. ^ Vestby, Ethan (10 June 2016). "The Films of Roberto Minervini: Capturing a Complicated Portrait of the American South". The Film Stage. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b Rapold, Nicholas (16 May 2024). ""We Question Together Hyper-Masculinity in Life as Well As In the War Movie Genre": Roberto Minervini on The Damned". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b "The Damned". Cannes Film Festival. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  7. ^ Deb, Deepshikha (2024-09-30). "MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Unveils 2024 Official Lineup". High On Films. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  8. ^ "The Damned". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 8 September 2024.  
  9. ^ "The Damned". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  10. ^ Carlo Valeri (16 May 2024). "I dannati, di Roberto Minervini". Sentieri selvaggi (in Italian).
  11. ^ Elisa Battistini (16 May 2024). "I DANNATI". Quinlan (in Italian).
  12. ^ Gian Luca Pisacane (16 May 2024). "I dannati". Cinematografo.it (in Italian).
  13. ^ Lodge, Guy (24 May 2023). "Cannes Film Festival: 'Black Dog' Wins Un Certain Regard Award". Variety. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Mediterrane Film Festival Golden Bee Awards". 2024-07-02. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
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