Scars of war take the longest to heal…
While Hostiles may present some hard to deal with moments but it serves as salient reminder of the toll that war takes on the lives of men thanks to a gripping performance.
US Calvary officer Capt Joseph J Blocker (Christian Bale) is tasked with escorting a dying Cheyenne chief (Wes Studi) and his family across dangerous territory to their home. This is a bitter assignment for Blocker on the tail end of his career as he’s seen his fair of bloodshed in fighting against the Cheyenne but as they face their challenges along the way, he learns how the horrors of war have changed them both and is forced to confront the racism and hatred that has been brewing inside him for so very long.
A story that applies to any age, Hostiles reminds of the importance of not necessarily forgetting the past, but not letting it define us at the same time. Director Scott Cooper and cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi turn the worlds of the undefined plains into a world unto themselves that hold a myriad of secrets that no one truly wants to confront. Cooper allows this to be a brutal yet truly humanistic affair as Bale goes above and beyond to show us the tortured layers of Blocker’s soul that he puts on the screen.
Hostiles won’t attain the status of classic but it does rank as one of the better recent efforts to come out of the western genre.
David Voigt is a Toronto based writer with a problem and a passion for the moving image and all things cinema. Having moved from production to the critical side of the aisle for well over 15 years now at outlets like Examiner.com, Criticize This, Dork Shelf (Now That Shelf), and to.Night Newspaper.
He’s been all across the continent; serving on the FIPRESCI Jury at the Festival Du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal, covering festivals out side of Toronto like Calgary Underground Film Festival, CUFF Docs, Slamdance, Fantasia, SXSW, DOC NYC, Santa Barbara Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival and many others
However, In the uncertain world of modern film journalism, David also knew that he needed to have a hand in writing and cementing his own contributions on the global film scene.
Having eclipsed the 10 year anniversary of his own outlet, In The Seats, where he’s been striving to support film (and TV) from all walks of life and his podcast “In The Seats With…” where after 5 & ½ years and over 750 episodes he’s talked with a wide variety of filmmakers, actors, behind the scenes artisans and so much more on the art of storytelling for the screen, which is spawning the launch of a new show in the Spring of 2026. “ITS: Soundtracks” will focus on the use of soundtrack and score in film which he believes is a combination that is the cinematic equivalent of Peanut Butter and Chocolate.
All this as well as hosting and moderating a variety of big screen events around the city, covering film in all its forms is just a way of life for him.
