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It is characteristic that this film is not better known. It obviously lacks most elements that a successful theater film needs: heroes, villains, conflict and resolution, romantic love interest..

Everything is topsy-turvy here, nothing works out as it should, everyone is clumsy, sad, angry, hurt and hungry and nobody has a solution for anything. In short: it is war and it is hell for everybody involved. People try to do best, but interests, allegiances and so called duty interfere. The picture transports us back in time to the Civil War with an intensity seldom seen in today's cinema. Straightforward honest images of an intense beauty. The actors are very well cast for the story and they make the characters come truly alive in front of our eyes.

A silver dollar in a heap of nickels!

This is one of my personal favorites, a rare little gem that seems to be undiscovered by the general population. Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson form the heart of the piece in what is a well-chosen cast. Few movies have ever captured the true hostilities that undergirded the Civil War, but this one seems to capture all the right tones and moods. If you're a fan of the book, Cold Mountain, try this movie out and see if you don't think it makes a good companion piece.

Let's face it, there aren't that many great Civil War films out there. "Glory," "The Horse Soldiers" and "Ride With the Devil" are the only ones I recall off hand; "The Blue and the Gray" and "Cold Mountain" also have numerous good points. "Gettysburg," on the other hand, is a bloated, melodramatic, artificial bore (made exclusively for Civil War buffs, whatever that is); I've never seen its prequel.

The peculiarly-titled "Pharaoh's Army" is a 1995 indie film about a real-life incident that took place in Kentucky during the Civil War. Because Kentucky was a border state the allegiances of its people were split between North & South. I'm sure it was hard to be neutral.

THE PLOT: A Union captain (Chris Cooper) and four soldiers invade a young widow's farm in the Kentucky wilderness (the widow is played by Patricia Clarkson); since her husband fought and died for the Confederacy they supposedly have the right to her livestock, even though she argues that she and her boy will likely starve come winter. One of the soldiers is accidentally wounded and they are forced to stay for a few days. The captain attempts to be a gentleman and even helps out on the small farm, but he fails to win any kind of favor with the widow, who rightly views them as nothing more than invading enemies. Events turn deadly and the captain, even though a good-hearted gentleman, is forced into an intense position.

Although the story is based on real events and takes place during the Civil War, this is not an epic war film with big battle scenes, strategizing generals, etc. The entire film takes place in and around the widow's small farm and focuses solely on the events that take place there. This limited scope may turn some viewers off.

Even though this is a small indie film, the score, cast, acting and writing are all top notch. The story is fairly slow-paced and there are no cataclysmic events to arouse those with ADD. The first time I saw it, I thought it was good, but not great. I viewed it again about a year later (earlier this summer) and liked it even more. Lately images of this picture have popped into my mind and something occurred to me: The way the film plays out and is presented to the viewer is REAL LIFE. What I mean is that it's almost as if someone went back in time and actually filmed the actual events. This is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. I tire of all the silly hollywoodisms common in modern American cinema -- supposedly humorous one-liners, unrealistic action scenes, excessive explosions, melodrama, unconvincing dialogue, etc.

The ending is powerful as the captain, a good man, is thrust into a position of cold-blooded murder in the name of war. It's intense, and so REAL. The insanity of war can easily turn the best of us into heartless killers.

The cover of the DVD prominently features Kris Kristofferson, but his role as a pro-South Kentucky preacher is relatively minor.

FYI: "Pharaoh's Army" was actually filmed in Kentucky, no doubt near where the real events took place.

BOTTOM LINE: This is a small film about a minor peripheral incident during the Civil War. It's not a big league Hollywood picture with the corresponding melodramatic, pretentiousness like, say, "Saving Private Ryan" (although that film has some undeniable positive qualities, like the D-Day invasion, there are way too many forced, artificial moments and dialogue -- remember the moronic dog tag scene?). "Pharaoh's Army" is generally a quiet film and likely won't blow you away or anything. What it has in its favor, however, is unpretentious REALISM. It's refreshing; and it will stay with you.

GRADE: B+

"Pharaoh's Army" defies formula. Instead of selling out for cliches and big stars, it relies completely on the excellent acting from a strong cast, the strength of a well written script, and a fascinating and bitter story. The result is a raw and realistic film that moves along fast, with a heavy emotional current. One of the best I've ever seen about the Civil War, and I think it can owe that to the pleasure of being an independent film (if you like this film, try to see the similarly brilliant indie Civil War film "Wicked Spring" as well).

"Pharaoh" simply tells the true story of a small expedition/forage team of Union men who ride into a Confederate farm to take provisions, but end up stuck there because of an accident of one of the men. Tensions broil and relationships are made and broken. Nothing happens the way Hollywood would write it; this movie comes from the mind of someone who actually cares about quality film and the telling of history. Superb dialogue and plot exposition move along a film that looks highly professional, but often doesn't feel like you're watching a movie, more along the lines of hearing a story.

The film boasts an incredible performance from Chris Cooper who shows an amazing versatility in the exploration of his role. He transforms, but is always at the height of believability and is easy to emotionally relate to. Patricia Clarkson is equally as stellar and realistic in a role that many actresses would crumble in. She shares an interesting chemistry with Cooper's character and where she's the more severe of the characters, is still as easy to identify with. The rest of the cast is quite capable, and fill their roles in well.

The art design and the set are wonderful, and personally I love the cinematography. It all has the feel of a Civil War period photograph with the camera presenting strong contrasting colors and shadows and a tin-like metalic tint, but always keeping the naturalistic look of the rustic setting. They seem to have used natural lighting, but whatever they used works beautifully. Everything looks like it belongs where it is, it feels period, something I find rare in American period films. The actors act 19th century, not like 20th century people in old clothes.

Above all, this film is very personal. I think that as an indie it can afford it. The film is nearly flawless with an outstanding script that effortlessly creates and explores the relationships and personalities of these characters and lets them grow in a situation, as bad as it is. It doesn't fail in getting it's point across, and it gets it's point across without the usual and overused techniques that are used in all war films these days. It's brave. It relies on it's characters, a fantastic script, human emotion, and in the cold hard fact that the Civil War wasn't all CGI, big stars, and hoop skirts.

Hidden gem here.

This is a war film, and it gives us the best of all worlds in film making.

However, I don't want to build it up too much. It's best to be somewhat pleasantly surprised, like I was.

It gives us the old fashioned war film, with a focus on an isolated group of soldiers. Here, it is the Civil War, and the soldiers are on a patrol to confiscate food for their army from Confederate sympathizers.

My initial feeling is that the characters are too three dimensional for most of IMDb's bubble boy posters. For the rest of the world, I dare say this story would envelop them in a world they could believe existed.

The cinematography is outstanding. The scenery is powerful. Everything about this film is amazing. I'd nominate everyone from cue card holder up for an Academy Award.

I'll echo what others have said. The characters look true to the times. Not like 20th or 21st century actors in uniform between video games. This is the real deal. I also like the way the accents were moderate, more Kentucky than the recent push to turn Kentucky into Mississippi. This was the "neutral" state of the Civil War. Historically, and geographically, it has never been the South, but more of the meeting of North and South.

I won't tell more of the plot, because I think you should take the ride. Trust these reviews. I don't think this film can possibly get a bad review, unless it's from a jealous competitor.