The Settlers

The story begins in 1893, a period of intense frontier expansion in the region. It spans seven years, reaching into 1900, to depict how land acquisition and colonial power collide with indigenous communities. The era is marked by nominal authority and coercive tactics used to justify expansion and control.

The film is set in the southern tip of South America, moving through the Tierra del Fuego archipelago and the surrounding Chilean-Argentine borderlands. It shifts between windswept coastal areas and the Chilean centers of power in Punta Arenas and the remote Chiloé Island, highlighting a harsh, frontier landscape. This setting provides the brutal backdrop for land seizures, colonial ambition, and violent encounters with indigenous peoples.

🗡️ Violence

Frontier violence against indigenous peoples is central to the plot, featuring killings, coercion, and sexual violence. Segundo’s moral hesitation contrasts with MacLennan and Bill’s ruthlessness, highlighting how different characters justify or resist brutality. The film probes complicity, survival, and the costs of atrocity for both victims and bystanders, including those who pretend to uphold order.

🧭 Power & Land

What begins as a border-delimitation mission quickly reveals itself as conquest and land speculation. Menéndez wields wealth and influence to back mercenaries and redefine local power, exposing how colonial interests cloak violence in the language of progress. The narrative shows official narratives masking brutal realities of settler expansion and dispossession.

🕯️ Memory & Accountability

Decades later, figures like Marcial Vicuña seek to confront and document past crimes, while others attempt to bury them. The film juxtaposes memory with denial as Menéndez and allies defend their actions and a historical record is contested. The perspectives of survivors and witnesses emphasize the difficulty of holding perpetrators to account and the persistence of memory.