God's Own Country

What a wonderful and unusual experience, to see a film without knowing anything about it. Before I knew it I was in Yorkshire. The silence was deafening, emotions unspoken. Then, Josh O'Connor - a miraculous actor - I didn't know who the actor was and that helped enormously to get sucked into his world - exterior and interior - and to live his experience fully. Alec Secareanu produces the perfect emotional blow. Roughness and tenderness in a stunning, totally believable performance that, I know will live in my mind forever. They changed me somehow. I was forced to look at something in a different way, without preconceptions. Gemma Jones and Ian Hart. complete this masterpiece that I intend to see again tonight with a group of friends who, like me, don't know the first thing about the film, other that I loved it. Francis Lee I'm joining the chorus with a heartfelt, thank you.

Everyone in the reviews is like "Brokeback Mountain this" and "Brokeback Mountain that" reducing both films to the absolutely superficial account "just a gay love story involving sheep herding". This is such a completely different tone, scope, setting, storytelling, type of character portrayal - in fact a completely different cinematic tradition from Brokeback Mountain, that it makes me wonder if people assuming an influence/considering the comparison obvious even saw the film.

There's five main characters in the film: Johny the frustrated teen/young adult who reluctantly takes over his dad's farm while he's recovering from a stroke, the dad - a typical hardworking man of few words who, we learn, raised his son alone, the gran who is caring but no-nonsense/unsentimental, the newcomer Gheorghe, a young Romanian farmer with lots of experience and genuine interest for the farm, and then there's the farm itself. The farm has needs, moods, emergencies, and ultimately drives the plot.

It's not a story about the discovery of sexuality, it's a story about the discovery of love and camaraderie, as well as a story of acceptance. Johny's journey towards settling into a life as a farmer is more or less that of the five stages of grief: denial (assisted by heavy pass-out drinking), anger, bargaining, and depression. In this journey Gheorghe becomes his guiding light.

It's beautifully shot, nicely paced, and naturalistically acted. I can hardly find a fault in the artistic result. As for its emotional impact, I can say for sure that I was moved, not only by the love story, nor just by the understated yet powerful portrayal of family bonds, but also by the portrayal of farm life, which (having grown up in a similar setting myself, albeit far far away from the hills of Northern England) made me think how people can be united by common experiences a lot more than by language, ethnicity etc.

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.

Absolutely stunning film that is now right up there among my all-time favourites. It's sensual and romantic; and raw and ugly at the same time which is actually quite an accomplishment. The partnership between O'Connor and Secareanu is incredibly effective; the magnificent Ian Hart made me cry and Gemma Jones is amazing as well. Along with a breathttaking scenery and the haunting melodies of A Winged Victory for the Sullen, it's truly a film to remember and cherish.

After seeing this at the Galway Film Fleadh, I can honestly say that this film is a beautiful standout that deserves more than to be called the "British Brokeback Mountain". While the comparisons between the two films were inevitable, God's Own Country offers different things than Ang Lee's classic. It speaks to more current issues of gay young men in a modern rural area, masterfully incorporating themes of identity issues, immigrant problems, and familial expectations. It's not a remake of the classic, it's an advancement of the genre that Brokeback Mountain helped define.

The most dazzling part of this film is the two young leads, Josh and Alec. It has been many, many years since I have seen a film where two individuals had as much chemistry between them, and the work that Josh and Alec put in to their character leaves the audience deeply and emotionally connected to both characters throughout the entirety of the movie. I could feel the lust between the two when they were on stage, and the heartbreak that happens when a fight occurs. The emotional performances by the two leads make the great movie even better.

Props must also be given to Francis Lee-- as a first time director, this is not the movie we in the audience were expecting. It was as masterful, as poignant, and as beautiful as any established director could have done. It was an honor to watch this film, and I cannot wait to follow the career of the director-- after what he did here, I know much more greatness is on the way.

I have not stopped thinking about this film for 3 days after I saw it. It won't leave me for a long time, because there is so much to thing about and so much to celebrate. I cannot wait to see it again, and I encourage you to see it as soon as you possibly can- - this is what independent cinema can look like when done masterfully!