First-time writer-director Robby Henson probably grew tired of being compared to John Sayles when Pharaoh's Army was given a limited release in 1995, but the comparisons were flattering, and this independent gem deserves any praise it can muster. Like Sayles's Matewan, it illuminates a small incident from rural America--in this case, an intimate episode of the Civil War in 1862 Kentucky--and in doing so adds richly shaded brush strokes of humanity to the grander canvas of history. Based on an actual incident as told to historian and folklorist Harry Caudill, the drama focuses on a widowed Kentucky farmwife who must protect herself and her 11-year-old son when their small farm is commandeered by a Union captain and four Yankee soldiers, one of whom is seriously injured shortly after their arrival. Sarah Anders (Patricia Clarkson) has good reason to hate the Yankee invaders, but Captain Abston (Matewan's Chris Cooper) is a gentle warrior, doing his duty with civility and honor (which is more than can be said about his unruly soldiers). Nevertheless, the Civil War's stranglehold still grips this divided region of Kentucky hills, where a gruff preacher (Kris Kristofferson) tries to uphold delicate moral order. Tensions rise, and blood will be shed, but Pharaoh's Army (which takes its title from a biblical passage) is more concerned with the roiling emotions stirred by war and death, and the extra effort required to maintain one's decency in the context of conflict. There's not a false note in this entire film, and each performance is perfectly pitched to capture a specific time and place, so it's easy to imagine that this incident unfolded very much as Henson shows it. In the roll call of little-known independent films, Pharaoh's Army should not be forgotten. --Jeff Shannon
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