Balentes

The naivety of youth is confronted with the brutality of war in this sombre tale set in Sardinia in 1940. Realising some horses on the island are to be sent into battle, two boys plan to release them before they are delivered to the army.

When two youngsters find out stabled horses are to be sold to the army, they plan to let the creatures loose, freeing them from the fate of certain death on the battlefield. Betrayed by a local rogue, the boys are pursued by the militia, with tragic consequences.

Using a meticulously considered style, director Giovanni Columbu combines a variety of techniques to create a bleak, foreboding atmosphere. The fragile movements of living beings are dwarfed by vast landscapes suggested in grand, gestural brushstrokes. Reminiscent of animated GIFs, looped images deliver precise meaning with remarkable gravity – the majesty of the horse, the wretchedness of grief, the pernicious threat of the fascist mob.

With Balentes – a term derived from the Sardinian word for ‘bravery’ – Columbu decries the mechanics of war: mistaking the boys’ idealistic actions for selfishness, a villager condemns them as “lads with no head on their shoulders”. We cannot help but reflect that these same hapless young men will one day be delivered to the front to face the same horrors of battle.

– Nicholas Davies

Trailer

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