«Hostiles, the greatest western of our century

Cinema Wednesdays - Jonas Follonier

Joseph Blocker, a cavalry captain, receives a mission to escort a Cheyenne war chief, a murderer who has served his sentence, back to his native Montana, somewhere in the Valley of the Bears. It's not easy for these ancient enemies to make common cause and face the obstacles that lie ahead. A classic Western through and through, yet with a strong, singular identity, Hostiles is a true seventh-art event.

A solid foundation in the western tradition

The beginning of the film bears witness to the tradition in which Hostiles to its end. A family home is attacked by Comanches. The house burns down. The only survivor of the massacre is the mother, played by Rosamund Pike. The scene immediately recalls Claudia Cardinale in Once upon a time in the West, which itself was reminiscent of all the classic westerns of Hollywood's golden age.

Read also: Once upon a time, a masterpiece

Exceptionally in today's cinema, the slowness of the camera, of the dialogues and of the action anchors this cinematic nugget in the heritage of the fifties and sixties, the holy era when an expression, a line or a coup de théâtre still had meaning. To satisfy this art of mystifying a story, the film is supported by top-notch actors. Any fan of accomplished cinema will find himself in good company when he goes to see Hostiles.

Christian Bale, who excels in the lead role, single-handedly delivers another essential characteristic of the Western: his face has the rakish features of the cowboy and the look made for the cinema. In the first part of the film, his words proudly place the drama in the classic opposition between the American army and Native Americans. «I hate them and the war has given me tons of reasons to hate them.» Nevertheless, the film avoids Manichaeism, revealing a more complex character psychology than might appear on the surface.

In a way, this dimension brings it closer to spaghetti westerns. Where it distances itself is that director Scott Cooper has not resisted the now habitual use of background music. Many have compared Hostiles by Tarantino. He, at least, understood the need to work with Ennio Morricone. Here, guitar and harmonica are nowhere to be found, breaking the hearts of moviegoers in love with the «cherry on top» that Italian cinema has brought to the Western, namely its music. While this is a huge flaw, the rest is a masterpiece.

Singularities to salute

The film's intelligent treatment of tradition is accompanied by features that make this cinema beautiful in its own right, regardless of the genre to which it belongs. Indeed, from the very first frames, there is an absolute mastery of light and shadow. Likewise, the landscapes that unfold on the screen delight the viewer's eye; on this point and this point alone, the chosen soundtrack, featuring string orchestras, fulfills its role brilliantly.

The resulting aesthetic requires - it's true - a big budget, but above all, great talent. This artistic work is to be applauded, despite the eternal detractors of American cinema and all those who disdain the wonderful world of the western out of an excess of small-minded morality. I've never seen a western story of such quality released after I was born, and genre specialists confirm my intuition: Hostiles is the greatest Western of our century.

Write to the author : jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Ascot Elite Entertainment