God's Own Country (2017)

Director Francis Lee is at the top of his game. Superb visual storytelling with minimal dialogue. Emotional responses are earned by the story/performances as opposed to musical cues. The film is raw, dark,and bleak and yet profoundly beautiful, fluid and sensual. There is this unifying earthiness throughout that connects the characters to the land and their animals that I have never seen in a film. The authenticity of the depiction of life on a farm is incredible. The actors are all amazing and the story avoids all clichés. The emotional arch of the main character is astounding and yet totally believable. This is one of those films I saw days ago and can not get out of my head. Do not miss it.

Fmovies: Waiting a week to review a film or a play can be problematic. Thinking back, surely the film's faults will rise to the surface, the ones you tended to overlook at the time. Of course, the opposite could be true; mulling over a film in your head might make it grow with hindsight. Walking out of Francis Lee's "God's Own Country" I knew I had seen something special; I knew I had seen a film that was a triumph of both LGBT cinema and of British cinema in general. A week later, and taking everything into account, I'm inclined to think that "God's Own Country" could be the best film of the year.

Like Andrew Haigh's "45 Years" this is an incredibly simple film about very complex emotions and issues. The setting is a farm in Yorkshire. The farm isn't successful and in time, it may well go under. It's run by Martin, (Ian Hart), but he's incapable of working due to injury and later illness. The work, (looking after the sheep and the cattle), is done by his taciturn son Johnny, (Josh O'Connor). Johnny is gay but he's practically homophobic; after a quick bout of sex with a guy he's picked up in a cafe, he just doesn't want to know and brushes the guy off with the words. "We? No." Then Gheorghe comes into his life; he's the Romanian farm-hand they hire, initially for a week, to help with the lambing. At first Johnny treats Gheorghe like dirt, asking him if he's 'a Paki' and calling him 'Gypo' and when, finally, they do have sex it's a rough act of lust borne out of loneliness on both their parts.

It's here that comparisons with "Brokeback Mountain" are bound to be raised, both in the setting and the way in which the initial attraction happens, (there's a later, and quite disarmingly beautiful, moment that will remind you of a similar scene in "Brokeback Mountain"), but Francis Lee's film is a much more honest and a much finer film than Ang Lee's which aimed for a Hollywood demographic.

"God's Own Country" is a film that hearkens back to the great British kitchen-sink movies of the sixties and to the kind of films that Ken Loach is still turning out. It feels 'real' and down-to-earth; at times it could be a documentary, (there are a lot of scenes showing life on a farm where the most dramatic thing that happens is a sheep or a cow giving birth). The relationship at the centre also feels real if, to some, a little unlikely. Perhaps the biggest, indeed the only, fault I can find with "God's Own Country" is in Lee's decision to make Gheorghe the strong, silent hunk who lands on Johnny's lap. Wish-fulfillment or what? Nevertheless, and without wanting to give too much away, it's edifying to finally see a gay-themed movie that doesn't end in tragedy. It's also superbly played by basically its cast of four. Both Josh O'Connor and Alec Secareanu are excellent as Johnny and Gheorghe, conveying so much with very little in the way of dialogue, while Ian Hart and especially Gemma Jones are wonderful as Johnny's father and grandmother. Jones is beautifully understated as a woman who accepts everything life throws at her with stoicism and a degree of humour.

Of course, this is a film that won't appeal to everyone. There are people who will find fault with the pace, with the lack of drama, with its political message and I am sure there will be gay men who will see in Johnny and Gheorghe things they may thi

It has been twelve years since the milestone Brokeback Mountain (2005) demanded that cinema be more honest in depicting the realities of same-sex love. Much has changed since then but most tropes of romance are still linked to heterosexuality. Whatever Brokeback achieved in the Wyoming mountains, God's Own Country (2017) takes to another level in the Pennine Hills of Northern England. It is a measure of social progress that cinema has moved beyond just portraits of 'forbidden love' to a space where it can openly explore rather than confront gay love.

Life on a sheep farm is tough and lonely for Johnny (Josh O'Connor). Since his father's stroke, he runs the farm by himself but all he gets is scowling disapproval from his ageing parents. He vents his anger and frustration in drunken binges and rough furtive sex with other gay men in a village wary of anyone who is different. A handsome Romanian seasonal worker Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu) is hired to help during the lambing season and Johnny's rural racism erupts in verbal taunts. Called a gypsy once too often, Gheorghe confronts him with intense physicality and the relationship changes instantly. While tending the sheep, they spend a few nights in an isolated shelter and their first sexual encounter terrifies and confuses Johnny who has never known tenderness and emotional acceptance. Gheorghe's sensitivity compels Johnny to confront his inner fears and discover his emotional self.

This is a complex film on several levels. The story barely moves forward in this cold, lonely, inhospitable place, with the narrative energy coming entirely from its earthy filming style and intense, authentic characterisation. The camera accentuates the slow pace of life by lingering on empty spaces, small details, and nature's ways. A close-up of a butterfly, misty morning light, the birth of a lamb, panoramas of harsh beauty in frosty air, all take on meanings beyond what we see. The depth and nuance of acting by O'Connor and Secareanu is the film's powerhouse. The silences are long and dialogue sparse, and much is communicated through action. Initially there is little to like about Johnny: we cannot get close to someone who is so distant from himself. Gheorghe is the opposite: intuitive, warm, and empathetic. The chemistry between them progresses from turbulence to deep acceptance and each step of the journey is raw and exposed. Intimacy between males is still a frontier in cinema and this film breaks through.

Like Brokeback, this is a genre-defying, coming of age, drama-rich love story. Today's audiences expect realism in human relationship stories and this film offers a full-frontal exploration of masculine sexuality and emotional self-discovery. This is a love story of universal relevance that transcends the usual clichés of romance. It is brave cinema with cutting-edge honesty.

God's Own Country fmovies. Beautifully photographed in the Yorkshire countryside during lambing season, God's Own Country depicts the severity and isolation of farm life for a 3-generation family. The ensemble cast are brilliant giving balanced performances which never overstate their connections or feelings for one another. While there is very little dialogue, there is considerable depth to the story and this audience member took away a lot from the story. This is a film which could crudely be labelled a gay coming out film but it's much more than that. It's a film about family relationships, dad and son tensions, the expression of intimacy and the acceptance of those who are often marginalised in our society. To say more would be to spoil the power of the movie.

One of the most powerful films I've seen in years, with fearless and authentic lead performances from Josh O'Connor and Alec Secareanu and beautiful, understated writing and direction from Francis Lee. Lee says more in a wordless scene than many filmmakers do in a whole feature.

Joshua James Richards shoots Yorkshire with a cinematic quality rarely seen in British film and operates his hand-held camera with an empathy and intuitiveness that allows him to capture many astonishingly intimate and truthful moments of performance.

It's these telling and tender moments which make up the film - small gestures that carry huge emotional weight. It is testament to Lee's writing and direction, and the performances of his entire cast, that these small moments (a glance, fingertips touching...) carry such a large emotional weight.

That title is in no way an insult. 'Brokeback Mountain' is a masterpiece, one of my favourites. 'God's Own Country' is also, in its own way. A film with an interesting, if potentially not the most accessible subject matter, that ended up being one of my favourite films of the year so far and for me the film that moved me the most.

'God's Own Country' is a film where, providing that the subject matter appeals (personally think it is an important subject and not explored enough on film and treated very judgementally in society) and one goes in knowing what to expect, it wouldn't make a difference whatsoever as to what gender or sexuality the viewer is. Speaking as a heterosexual female with "gay" friends (among the nicest people personally met too). It took the festival circuit by storm and it's no wonder.

It's a beautifully made film, especially in the luminous photography and rich in atmosphere scenery. The music has presence but is never intrusive, even only being used when needed. Minimal dialogue proved to be a good choice and what there is of it was still thought-provoking and flowed well. When not with spoken dialogue, 'God's Own Country' really resonates. Showing the beauty of registering so much and inducing emotions when understated and very quiet in mood, with as little as small gestures, expressive eyes and faces and no words.

Francis Lee does a remarkable job directing, cannot believe that this is his directorial debut. There are not many great first-time-director films, even the very best went on to much better things (for Kubrick's first film was also his worst), 'God's Own Country' is one of them. Story-wise, the film is deliberate and understated but beautiful and very poignant, with a lot of nuance in how the characters are developed in compellingly real characterisations and not cardboard stereotypes. It is hard to pick the most moving element or part, because it was mainly how the quiet, nuanced atmosphere, writing and acting was executed and the beauty of it all, basically the little things. It is a very different and sensitively handled slant on same-sex/gay relationships, such as in the attitudes towards the relationship, and that was done in a way that felt real and refreshing, not an easy thing to get right when portrayed on film or television but this is one of the better examples.

There are also strands crucial to the character development, like with the father. That added a lot of emotional weight. The characters are interesting and the central relationship beautifully realised and handled with tact and sensitivity, spark was absolutely there. Are there clichés? Perhaps. Whether that's an issue in film is wholly dependent on how they're written and incorporated, neither issues here. Maybe there could have been more depth to why the change of attitude, agreed, but this only occurred to me after the film finished rather than bothering me while watching and the realisation hit that it was an insignificant nit-pick that wasn't enough to bring the film down.

Here in 'God's Own Country', one couldn't ask for better performances. Not just from the fantastic leading turn of Josh O'Connor, really hope he goes on to great things after this, but also the ever wonderful Gemma Jones, Ian Hart (with some of the best acting he's ever given) and Alec Secareanu in a role not as meaty but just as movingly portrayed.

Overall, one of my favourite films of 201