Athina Rachel Tsangari's HARVEST is a throw back to some of the medieval films of the 1970's that seemed to be a a mix of renfair dress and an electric score. It's a film that seems to want to desperately say something ,but unfortunately it doesn't seem to know what with it's ideas lost in long sequences that don't always seem to have a point or simply get lost from it's translation from a source novel.
The plot covers several days in a village that is two days ride from anywhere. Watched over by Master Kent, a man who is the Lord thanks to marriage, he now watches over the land since his wife passed away. As the film opens one of the villagers burns down a stable where doves are stored. He did it for the hell of it. No action is taken against him and the fire is eventually blamed on one of three outsiders who have the misfortune to wander in and camp on the edge of town during the fire. Worse for everyone there is now a new Lord of the manner, the cousin of Master Kent's wife who has laid claim to the land and is going to evict everyone and turn it all into sheep pasture.
You would think this would be ripe for drama, and you would be right, but only if it was in better hands. Sadly Tsangari bobbles the ball everywhere. Too much is unsaid, dreamy sequences ramble on, threads are brought up and dropped, the time frame seems out of whack. The cast and characters are a real mixed bag. Sure the the leads are fine, but beyond them the cast is an incredible mixed bag with accents coming from all nations and performances that are ludicrous at times. One gentleman talks out of the side of his mouth like Popeye and it was all I could do not to laugh out loud during the press screening.
To be fair I can't be certain if the bad performances are the result of the actors or the script and direction. In all seriousness most of the characters are not just badly drawn, but badly drawn in crayon with the unpunished arsonist reduced to looking like a wide eyed moron in every shot, the townsfolk acting like something that central casting rejected and the villain of the piece coming off as the most cliched mustache twirling boo hiss bargain basement sort. He isn't a person, just a character that exists simply to say vile things so that the film can lurch and lumber to a conclusion.
And lastly, while I know that generally you structure a film so things happen around the main character, and pretty much everything does here, but there is no personality just some one reduced to wandering through things as bad shit happens to everyone around him.
When the film was over one of the writers siting next to me cursed out loud saying that she has to get rid of the tickets she bought for the public screening. This was one of her must sees of the festival and had come to the press screening because she had to see it. Afterward all she could think was how to tell her friend the screening was off because she couldn't inflict this on them or herself again.
Not Recommended.
Accurate description. I don't understand why this film was made or what point it was trying to make. It's was very disappointing.
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