Kentucky, 1861. Amidst the American Civil War, brothers Francis and Henry Mellon depend on each other to keep their unkempt farm afloat as winter encroaches and the war rages on seemingly far beyond the borders of their family’s land. Isolated, the relationship between the two is increasingly strained. After Francis takes a casual fight too far, Henry ventures off in the night leaving each of them to struggle through the wartime on their own.

An epic of intimate proportions, Men Go To Battle with its authentic characters and evocative candlelit cinematography paints a vivid and even at times humorous picture of the Civil War era as it was lived by many Americans. Director Zachary Treitz draws on material from his own family's wartime archive and along with co-writer Kate Lyn Sheil employed resourceful production methods, which included embedding themselves with real civil war reenactors, to craft a truly distinctive DIY period piece, and an impressive debut feature.

—Cara Cusumano

Directed by

Zachary Treitz