La Clé des champs

One of the movies not to be missed. This is not your standard movie with a generic plot/storyline. The movie jumps straight into the lives of 2 young farmers. Using the farming industry as their setting, you quickly immerse yourself in their normal lives. Tough work and work friends who belonged to a different social circle.

Some of the best scenes in this film does not need words, they were meant to be felt. Let yourself sit in the shoes of the main characters and you will understand. So subtle yet it reflects our daily lives; the mundaneness, the yearn for a connection, the attraction to the same sex, the fear of societal rejection.

I always watch this film when I feel down, when hope seemed lost and turn it into a smile before I go to bed. Watch it.

If you like dime-a-dozen action movies, you won't like this beautiful and sensitive film. If you are drawn to the cinematic possibilities for sensitive portrayal of character and struggle, you should like it. The acting is superb, superior to anything Hollywood is capable of. I've watched it several times and have always been amazed at what has been accomplished here.

I loved this movie. The first time Jacob and Marko sit in the abandoned car is one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen in any movie, and they hardly say a word; it's all in their eyes and in the way they move. Kai Michael Müller (Jacob) is especially appealing, but both guys are excellent. This movie is far more sensual than movies with nudity and sex (Harvest has none of either).

I should give up trying to understand why other people don't like the same things I do. I can't imagine thinking this movie is slow or boring or dull. I watched it all the way through in one sitting because I simply couldn't break myself away from it. So much was happening that I didn't want to miss any of it. I've seen over a thousand movies in the past five years, and I could count on one hand the ones I've watched in one sitting.

There is no violence in it at all, and only the very briefest flash of hostility from a passing stranger. Nearly everything that happens happens within and between the two lead characters; and even when it is difficult (as it is most of the time for Marko) it is always tender, never violent. Maybe that's why it bores people.

It is known and understandable that German character is not a French or Spanish one, being sedate and tardy, but combination of "sensitive" topic and agricultural environment was apparently not the best idea to keep the film going. True, we obtained a rather good overview of rural economy in contemporary Germany, thoughts and goals of interns, etc., but its overall pace remained too slow, and even "brighter" moments were shown in a gray and hectic manner. There are very few creations I know where virtually-nothing-happening can be fascinating (e.g. The Station Agent).

The main characters and performances are rather good, but there are lots of other, documentary-like figures, whose role and meaning is schematic. So are some scenes and events, particularly when a static locality movie become an insipid road movie.

Well, as for the topic in question, I would recommend Freier Fall - much more versatile and concise. Stadt Land Fluss did not impress me much, although I liked the ending - at least 1 additional point for this.

I saw this film last night and when it was over, I was rather disappointed. I came to see what others had said about it and noticed it only ran for 98 minutes. It felt more like 3 hours.

Its only redeeming quality is the depiction of the farming profession in post-Communist Germany. One does get a feeling of what it is like for the younger generation in the area, where the adults still have a bit of the old way in their methods and the kids are not quite convinced it is for them. We see some of the beauty of the farm, but also a bit of the decay that was left over from the old days.

I do give the two leads a bit of credit, both for being easy on the eyes and for conveying tons of meaning with their looks and actions. It does not, however, make up for the lack of plot or character development.