Western: la ley del más fuerte

On the frontier there is always someone who ventures beyond their companions in understanding and empathy for different cultures. A group of German construction workers in the Bulgarian countryside encounters difficulties with the locals and the foreign terrain. Tensions escalate from miscommunication, misuse of resources, corruption, selfishness, nationalism, arrogance and more. Meinhard, one of the Germans, becomes increasingly amiable with the locals. He attempts to understand their culture and ways, shares his knowledge, teaches a kid to ride a horse, helps with little tasks and drinks rakia (local liquor) late into the night with his new companions. Many among the Germans and Bulgarians do not like this. Even as Meinhard discovers solutions to difficulties and benefits to getting along, there are those in the shadows who want the divisions to remain and who believe that unless you eat, you will be eaten.

A compelling, wonderful and classical story of a vulnerable dreamer who dares to drift across the divide. The director maintained in the question and answer session after the film, that she places emphasis on what is going on inside the characters rather than any ultimate showdown. It is good that she does this, as it is truer to life. It allows the audience (me) to better identify with the characters. Non-professional actors were used in all the roles and the gamble worked, because the film felt more authentic this way. The director also maintained that she was not a micro-manager. She gave the actors space and the trust provided dividends. It makes me wonder why anyone, filmmaker or not, insists upon complete control. In advance of making the film, Grisebach lived in and learned about the area and its people, which turned out to be another good habit on her part. There were some beautiful shots of the landscape, and I wish there were more. Also, I wish there was a little more depth to the dialogue. Un Certain Regard (uncertain regard?) at Cannes. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.

German filmmaker Valeska Grisebach successfully uses non-professional actors in this very methodically paced film, which will probably only appeal to a certain slice of cinephiles.

A group of German construction workers are dispatched to rural Bulgaria to construct a water power plant. The atmospherics here are extremely realistic, as the two cultures try and co-exist despite not being able to communicate effectively, except with the occasional translator.

At times, they'll be amicable relations but there can also be times that are tension filled and threatening. There's also tension within the construction workers themselves, especially between the new mysterious worker (Meinhard Neumann) and the aggressive foreman (Reinhardt Wetrek).

Overall, definitely not for those seeking any kind of an action flick. But for those viewers that have the patience to get into a quiet, cerebral and character driven film, there are rewards here to be found.

Despite director Valeska Grisebach's claims that her film, "Western," is inspired by the popular American film genre, the title refers more to cultural differences between western and eastern Europe than it does traditional cowboys and indians. Indeed, on the surface nothing resembling a traditional movie western is to be found in this film, aside from macho posturing and men trying to assert their authority over one another. But then again, I imagine that's Grisebach's point of inspiration, as that's largely what American westerns are all about.

In "Western," a group of German workers is assigned to a construction project in a remote area of Bulgaria, and the film mostly follows one of them, Meinhard, a sort of odd man out, as he sours on the companionship of his fellow workers and instead befriends a nearby Bulgarian village. Meinhard has a violent past, having formerly been a legionnaire (he refuses to answer when one of the men asks if he's ever killed someone), and the whole movie consists mostly of waiting to see if and when Meinhard will explode as tensions between the Germans and Bulgarians mount.

Grisebach has said that she wanted her movie to explore themes of toxic masculinity, a goal that some have applauded while others have derided. I think her point is that in a traditional western movie, the quiet and stoic hero (Meinhard) would only let himself be pushed so far before he asserted his power and authority over the other men, usually through controlled but violent means. But that idea of the alpha male is becoming more and more antiquated, and this film seems to suggest that perhaps the manliest thing one can do is choose to walk away from male bluster and instead join the camp of inclusivity and understanding.

"Western" is full of men being aggressive to greater and lesser degrees -- to women, to each other -- yet it's Meinhard, the one who decides at the film's end to dance at a village celebration rather than mete out the revenge he so clearly wants to take, who emerges as the character with the most strength.

Grade: A

Watch the DVD extra interview with the German director, Grisebach. She says she grew up in W Berlin watching American westerns on TV and that this movie originates from that experience. Sorry, she's hallucinating. There's nothing here that remotely resembles an American "western" (her references: Ford and Mann). The title of this film, "Western," is thus jive.

Like a post-modern, identity politics drone she talks about the "closed-off masculinity" of westerns. She talks of interviewing American construction workers and finding some connection between their "closed-off masculinity" and that of western heroes; I worked construction after college and can attest hers is elitist identity politics, fear & loathing of healthy male heterosexuality, what her brain-washed ilk spurn as "toxic masculinity." Sad: politically correct fascists like her have lost connection to common sense and the ground.

Despite this, fortunately, this film grinds out a slow-paced, compelling drama of distinctly European (not "western") tensions: Germany vs. everyone (Germany both as past Nazi invader and present economic boss), prosperous west vs. poor east Europe, and obnoxious urban industrial workers vs. pure, rural bumpkins. The unspoken issue is the identity of Europe in the face of immigrant invasion. The protagonist, an outsider who sports a thick "Western" mustache, bridges the gap between his peers, pig German construction workers, and humble, timeless Bulgarian villagers (and is attacked by both). The key moment, the "truth" of this film, occurs when a Bulgarian asks this wandering stranger what he's looking for.

Yes, the movie could have been shortened by 10-20 minutes. Yes, it could have benefited from closer integration of its theme, instead of meandering. Still, despite this, characters live and breathe, the details are right, and it held my rapt attention from beginning to end.

This film is proof that cinema is art. If you are watching to think about movies. Made for you exactly. I would recommend.