(Credit: Netflix)

Every so often, a movie comes back into the spotlight on Netflix years after release. Technically, thanks to the streamer’s knack for reviving overlooked gems and, of course, the algorithm.

This week, that movie is an eight-year-old western, Hostiles. This film has suddenly found itself galloping into the Netflix US Top 10 and is ranking at number eight. It feels a bit strange, as this movie never got the recognition during its first run, and now all of a sudden it has new wind.

This Scott Cooper-helmed story is set in 1892 and wastes no time in plunging viewers into the harsh moral terrain of the American frontier. Hostiles stars Christian Bale as Army Captain Joseph Blocker, a soldier whose career is built on fighting Native tribes.

Grown bitter and rough around the edges, Blocker is ordered to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief, Yellow Hawk, played by Wes Studi. It would have been fine if it were just Hawk, but his family also needed rescuing back to their homeland in Montana. The fighter doesn’t have an option but to accept the mission, and he does that with reluctance to spare his career.

By the description of it, you might expect the journey to be a tough one. But what begins as an obligation quickly settles some deeper scores. Along the way, the group encounters violence, loss, and many moments where the trust runs thin as a rake, but never dissipates.

Rosamund Pike’s Rosalie Quaid, a woman traumatised by the murder of her family, joins them in what is an uneasy alliance faced not only by the dangers of the land but also the history of violence dotting it. The way it becomes a binding factor is heartwarming to watch.

Unlike the typical old western fares where we have macho gunslingers threatening ugly duels at noon, Hostiles moves at a slower, heavier rhythm, carefully following the traversing of country and emotional lines. It is quiet, sometimes painfully so, with silence carrying as much weight as the dialogue. Christian Bale delivers one of his most restrained performances bringing alive the gravitas of a staid figure like Blocker.

When it premiered in 2017, Hostiles was praised for its acting and striking framing of the characters against harsh dunes and grassy landscapes. However, it still failed to stand out in awards season. Part of the reason is the timing, as it was put up against populist franchise vehicles, like Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

That honesty is why Netflix audiences are discovering it now. Westerns are rare in today’s Hollywood, and Hostiles feels both traditional and modern, despite its setting in the 19th century. It’s safe to say the streamer’s charts have become a place where missed opportunities don’t remain so.