''Pharaoh's Army'' is a 1995 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed, written and produced by

Robby Henson Robby Henson is an American director and screenwriter. Biography Robby Henson began his directing career at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Henson is now a skilled film and documentary maker. He writes and directs all his films, ...

, starring

Chris Cooper Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), ''October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' Ca ...

Patricia Clarkson Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions. Her accolades in ...

and

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

. The film takes place in southeastern

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

and focuses on an uneasy encounter involving a small squadron of

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

soldiers who take up residence at the farm of a woman whose husband is fighting in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

Plot

The story is narrated by an unnamed boy, now an old man, 'as best as he can remember'. In the spring of 1862, in the Cumberland Mountains 'down near the Tennessee line', war sympathies were strongly divided, neighbors against neighbors. After the unexplained death of Sarah Anders' (Clarkson) daughter at the hand of Yankees, the body is dug up from the grave and unceremoniously left exposed by Yankees, to add insult to Sarah's loss, as her husband is away fighting for the Confederacy. Sarah also has a young teen-aged son, the boy. Sarah takes her daughter's body (in coffin) back to her homestead to rebury. Captain John Hull Abston (Cooper), a Union army officer and a widower Ohio farmer before the war, commands a party of four soldiers scavenging for supplies. All are untested in battle. They arrive at Sarah's small cabin and take what little they can find. In the process, the youngest soldier is seriously accidentally wounded, and the party has to stay there until the soldier is well enough to travel. Sarah and the boy suffer the company of the raiding party for several days, but are not seriously harassed by them. In fact, the Captain takes pity on Sarah, and as they wait around, he even assists her in plowing a small patch of land to plant a corn crop, as 'he likes to work with mules'. The boy sneaks away one night to advise nearby neighbor Preacher (Kristofferson), a minister and Confederate sympathizer, of their situation. The next day, one of the soldiers, disgusted by the situation, rides off to desert, and the captain starts to shoot him. Just then, sniper fire rings out, killing the deserter, and all take refuge in the cabin. Sarah and the boy think it's her husband doing the shooting. The captain eventually kills the sniper, and all discover it is not Sarah's husband. Later, Preacher comes to retrieve the sniper's body, as it is his Israel, his colored servant. The captain buries the dead soldier next to Sarah's daughter's grave, which enrages Sarah and she becomes insanely distressed. The raiding party leaves, taking Sarah's wagon, mule and cow, but the captain leaves Sarah a rifle 'for the boy to shoot squirrels'. She attempts to shoot the captain as he rides away, but the rifle is empty. When they are out of sight, Sarah digs up the soldier, as the boy, after fetching a revolver he had earlier stolen from the party, runs after the raiders. The boy catches up to the party and shoots the wounded soldier, lying in the wagon, dead, and then flees; the captain pursues him, firing after him. The captain returns to the cabin with the body in the wagon, and the mule, looking for the boy. The captain chastises the boy for killing the young soldier, and Sarah and the captain argue. The captain, frustrated, threatens to kill them, and Sarah, frustrated, says "Go ahead. Kill us." The upset captain fires two rounds into the air, asks that the dead soldier be provided a decent Christian burial, then returns to the other two of his party. They ask "What'd you do to 'em?", and he replies, "You heard the shots." They continue on their way. Because 'the Civil War was not about 'being decent,' Sarah and the boy throw the first soldier killed into the creek, to wash downstream. They dump the body of the other soldier into a sinkhole near a fallen sycamore, and throw some dirt on it. Sarah's husband never did return.

Cast

as Confederate preacher *

as Sarah Anders *

as Captain John Hull Abston

Production

The title is taken from Preacher alluding to the boy the story from the Old Testament, about pharaoh's army (the North) being sent to smite Israel (the South), and how it was destroyed. According to director/producer/writer

, ''Pharaoh's Army'' was inspired by

Shelby Foote Shelby Dade Foote Jr. (November 17, 1916 – June 27, 2005) was an American writer, historian and journalist. Although he primarily viewed himself as a novelist, he is now best known for his authorship of '' The Civil War: A Narrative'', a three ...

's books about the war between the North and South, and 'is based on a true story.' Kristofferson, who appears in just a few scenes, was the only 'big name' star at the time. His daughter Tracy acted as associate producer, and got him involved in the project.

References

External links

* {{Robby Henson 1995 films American Civil War films Films directed by Robby Henson 1990s English-language films 1990s American films