A One Mann’s Movies review of “Harvest” (2024) (from the London Film Festival).
“Harvest” is based on the 2013 novel by Jim Crace and directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari, a director whose work is new to me. Pitched into an English rural community in the Dark Ages, it’s not Monty Python “Bring Out Your Dead”, but there is a lot of great muck around.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Walter Thirsk (Caleb Landry Jones) is the appointed leader of a small farming community within the bounds of the manor owned by ‘Master Kent’ (Harry Melling… Dudley Dursley in Harry Potter). Life is simple but fair. And the going is relatively steady as the old traditions are observed. But disruption comes from two sources: firstly the arrival of three unwelcome visitors from another village and then the appointment by Master Kent of an artist (Arinzé Kene) set to map Kent’s lands. But this is nothing compared to the threat on the horizon.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This has not yet been rated by the BBFC. I would expect it to be a ’15’/’R’ based on language and some sexual content.)
Talent:
Starring: Caleb Landry Jones, Frank Dillane, Harry Melling, Rosy McEwen, Arinzé Kene, Grace Jabbari, Gary Maitland, Noor Dillan-Night.
Directed by: Athina Rachel Tsangari.
Written by: Joslyn Barnes & Athina Rachel Tsangari, (Based on the book by Jim Crace).
Running Time: 2h 11m.
“Harvest” Summary:
Positives:
- The story is only progressively revealed.
- Some genuinely quirky moments that I found intriguing.
- Beautiful shots of nature (which looks more like Scotland to me than England)
Negatives:
- It’s hard to care since I ended up not liking anyone by the end.
- It’s a bit of a ‘Father Ted’ film (see Glossary).
Review of “Harvest”:
Strong Start.
We start the film seeing Walt (Caleb Landry Jones) embracing nature like some sort of hippy tree-hugger, eating bark, performing fellatio on a tree knot and swimming naked in the loch. What IS going on? (It turns out that the ‘schrooms are potent in the meadow.) We then head into the village where a cowardly arsonist has set a barn alight and it is all hands (literally for Walt) to quench the flames. Action-wise, this strong start is not really matched for the rest of the film. However, it is a good introduction to the characters in the village and to the relationships between them.
One of those fledgling relationships is between a reluctant Walt (whose backstory we only progressively uncover) and the attractive young widow Kitty Gosse (“Blue Jean“‘s Rosy McEwen), which we’ll return to later.
Quirky Customs.
I enjoyed the way in which the film portrayed some of the quirky medieval customs of the age (which are presumably based on fact). A ‘Gleaning’ day allows the village folk to scavenge for post-Harvest wheat heads that have been missed by the main harvest. They get to keep these for their own flour-making. “First it’s your turn, then the cows, then the geese, then the hogs” says Master Kent (Harry Melling), which only seems fair. Part of this day includes the ceremony of crowning the “Gleaning Queen”. One of the ‘fair maidens’ of the village is crowned. The choice is made by the map-maker Quill (Arinzé Kene) which is where some of the issues begin.
An even more bizarre custom is the school teacher taking her class of younglings around the boundary of the land and physically banging each child’s head against the boulders marking the boundary. This is so that they “know where they belong”. (“Hey kids…”, said the casting person, “… come and play a part in this movie we’re filming…. oh, by the way…” There was obviously some nicely padded foam, out of shot, covering the boulder. But the look on some of the kid’s faces implies that, for some of them at least, it was still a bit of a whack!)
Pillory Action
Less quaint is what the villagers do to the three interlopers (since they are, falsely, believed to be the arsonists). Two of them (Gary Maitland and Noor Dillan-Night) are put into the pillory with a sentence of 7 looong and painful days. Their beautiful sister (Thalissa Teixeira), lusted after by all the village men, has her beautiful locks lopped off with sheep shears. Part of the comedy of the piece (and bits of this film are laugh-out-loud funny) is the obscene language that the two pilloried men hurl at the villagers as they pass.
Nature at its Finest
Director Athina Rachel Tsangari clearly has an eye for mood-setting as we cut away frequently to close-ups of flora and fauna of the area. This is on top of the wonderful countryside of loch and moor that we are subjected to during the course of the action. It’s all aesthetically pleasing.
Complex relationships develop
I was struck by how the relatively simple story – ostensibly the ongoing relationship between (Walt and the Villagers) with (Master Kent and Quill) – suddenly became much denser and more complex in the second reel as new players enter the fray (no spoilers). Then the relationships that you were comfortably understanding early on suddenly fray and break in surprising ways. At the heart of this turmoil is poor Walt, who is stuck between a rock and a hard-place.
I’ve seen some reviews that called the film “confused” and “meandering”, but I didn’t find it that way. I found the changing relationships and trade-offs engrossing and entertaining. In particular, I started to feel rather incensed that certain innocent parties seemed to be getting a lot of undeserved blame for things they really had little to do with.
A number of deaths.
There are a number of deaths during the film, one being equine, which will no doubt upset horsey people (back to “Lady Macbeth” again!) Of the two human deaths, one is through water-boarding in a manner which I doubt I’ll ever see the like of again in a movie! (Now, I bet I have you intrigued!)
Unlikeable Players.
The Dark Ages in England were a brutal and miserable period of history. They weren’t called “Dark” for no reason. A problem of the film is that its really difficult to like or side with anyone in particular. There is a “boo-hiss” villain of the piece (Frank Dillane) but nobody really comes out of the film smelling of roses. As a result, it’s difficult to care about what happens to any of them. The ending of the film is also not remotely uplifting. As the publicity summary says “Over seven hallucinatory days, a village with no name, in an undefined time and place, disappears.” So, you know it’s a “Father Ted” sort of film.
Summary Thoughts on “Harvest”
This won’t be for everyone and it seems to have had a lukewarm reception from its previous Festival outings. But I personally enjoyed it as a rollercoaster ride of changing relationships. It is a little bit muddled in its execution, but I didn’t mind that since I’m sure a lot of medieval life was very much more muddled!
The film alreadys seems to be available through the MUBI platform and it appears that it might also have a UK cinema release later this month, so watch out for that.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Harvest”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck944Ak3TL0 .
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