Louis Theroux: The Settlers (2025)
Louis Theroux: The Settlers (2025)
Louis Theroux: The Settlers is a BBC documentary directed by Joshua Baker, produced through Theroux's own Mindhouse Productions, and released in 2025 as a direct follow-up to Theroux's 2011 film on the same subject. The fourteen-year gap between visits gives the film an unusual structural tension, returning to a community that has grown considerably in both size and political confidence during that period. The intervening years saw the subject matter shift from a relatively niche geopolitical concern to one of the most contested issues in global discourse, particularly following the events of October 2023 and their aftermath. Baker, a relatively emerging figure in documentary directing, works here under the established Theroux format, a format that has defined British observational documentary for the better part of three decades.
Louis Theroux’s The Settlers (2016) isn’t easy to rate. n Not because it’s poorly made, but because its power lies precisely in how it unsettles you. As with his best work, Theroux doesn’t lecture or editorialize; he observes, listens, and lets contradictions speak for themselves. The documentary embeds itself among Israeli settlers in the West Bank (many of them religious nationalists who believe God granted them this land, which to me seems absurd as a rationalisation since anyone could counter that claim under the same premise) and captures their daily lives, convictions, and justifications with his trademark quiet persistence. It’s impeccably shot, thoughtfully structured, and deeply human in its approach, even when the humanity (or inhumanity) on display is difficult to reconcile with justice. Through interviews and fly-on-the-wall moments, Theroux reveals the machinery of occupation: land seizures, harassment of Palestinian neighbors, armed patrols, and a sense of divine entitlement that masks systemic displacement. He doesn’t need to condemn explicitly, the footage does that work. The imbalance of power, the casual cruelty, the erasure of Palestinian presence, it’s all there, rendered with chilling clarity. And yet, the film refuses to simplify. Some settlers express doubt; others double down. Palestinian voices are present, though necessarily limited by access, a quiet testament to the very barriers the film documents. It’s hard to “review” in stars. This isn’t entertainment. It’s testimony. And as such, The Settlers succeeds not as advocacy, but as witness. It doesn’t tell you what to think, but it makes it impossible to look away. For that alone, it’s essential viewing, even if it leaves you more troubled than resolved.
Rating: Not rated | Year: 2025 | Watched: 2026-02-23
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: BBC iPlayer
Physical: Amazon UK
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