It's not every day you have the chance to see a film about French farmers, in fact, the last I can remember was probably Manon des Sources from 1986 - though, after miniscule research, it seems there have been a few docos recently; Modern Life (2008) and After Winter, Spring (2015). In the Name of the Land starts with a hopeful father to son transition of the family farm, Les Grands Bois, and slowly, but perhaps predictably, descends into creeping ruination.
Guillame Canet plays Pierre Jarjeau and he's almost unrecognisable for most of the film, as he's been balded up to appear older. Once you get past this prosthetic (?) his performance is pretty gripping. Veerle Baetens is his wife Claire, dealing with the shit going on around her with a calming power, She's great in this, as is Rufus, that old stalwart of Jeunet and Caro films past, as the arsehole father, Jacques, who is the real villain of the piece for my money.
The film was directed and co-written by Edouard Bergeon, and it's based on the life of his family. It must have been a gut-wrenching process to make this, considering the bleak outcome, but I guess it brought a catharsis of sorts. There are moments of happiness and fun times but these are ultimately overshadowed by the climax, and the sting at the start of the credits about French farmers is kind of difficult to believe.
In the Name of the Land is an important film that deals with universal issues and it certainly packs a punch. Advance screenings start Friday 20th Nov at Luna Leederville.
See also:
For two more films set in the French countryside, you can't go wrong with Jean de Florette and its sequel (see above) Manon des Sources (strangely, both 1986) directed by Claude Berri. They're fantastic films.
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