Men Go to Battle

While most Americans predict that the Civil War will end by Christmas, Henry (Tim Morton) and Francis Mellon (David Maloney) are more concerned about braving another winter on their struggling rural Kentucky farm. The brothers have become suffocatingly close. Francis' practical jokes have become more and more aggressive until the night he accidentally injures Henry in a drunken fight. Then, after humiliating himself in front of a daughter (Rachel Korine) of the town's preeminent family, Henry disappears in the night. Only months later does Francis learn that Henry has joined the Union army, and the two are left to find out separately what the approaching war will bring.

“This is no ordinary historical drama. Zachary Treitz's quiet, candle-lit directorial debut about a pair of ignorant, awkward and illiterate brothers strips the period film bare.” – Jack Coyle, AP

“Treitz persuasively and passionately re-creates a grand panorama on an intimate scale….[he] captures rugged country life at a muscular level. The actors’ terse wit, chewy accents, and impulsive gestures suggest great physical force as well as equally great cultural constraints, ambient violence and a fear of God. The production designer, Jacob Heustis, is the film’s virtual co-author; the clothing and the furnishings have the aura of simple authenticity, which is reinforced by the cinematographer Brett Jutkiewicz’s agile impressionism, illuminated by streaky sunlight, flickering bonfires, and dim lanterns.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“Men Go to Battle takes us back into the everyday lives of such a troubled time period without feeling heavy-handed or manipulative.” – Meredith Alloway, Paste

“A darkly comedic but historically accurate look at two brothers whose escalating pranks are interrupted by the Civil War.” – Jeremy Kay, Screen Daily

“At once a witty comedy about arrested development and a deeper rumination on individual experiences during wartime, Men Go to Battle is an effective period piece with a contemporary soul.” – Eric Kohn, Indiewire

“An emerging talent working in a genre that would scare away most first-timers.” – John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter

“A triumph of resourcefulness.” – David Ehrlich, Time Out New York