Men Go to Battle

Filmmaker Zachary Treitz's debut feature is set in 1861 rural Kentucky, where the semi-literate Mellon brothers half-heartedly maintain the non-productive family farm, amidst horseplay and no particular interest in the stirring War Between the States. When Henry Mellon (Tim Morton) receives a romantic rejection from a maiden hopelessly out of his league, he impulsively skips out to join the Union Army, leaving behind his more domineering sibling Francis (David Maloney), a move that will force both brothers to mature more quickly. Treitz leaves a lot offscreen—possibly too much—in his naturalistic, low-key, partially deadpan-comic approach to a Civil War drama, one that is delivered here without the expected violence. A strong optional purchase. (C. Cassady)