Harvest
Description
From the mischievous antics of the two young women in Attenberg (Festival 2011) to the machismo gamesmanship of Chevalier (Festival 2016), director Athina Rachel Tsangari is interested in looking at behavioral systems within a pressure cooker. An adaptation of Jim Crace’s acclaimed novel, her latest, Middle Ages-set film observes the upheaval residents of a village face when capitalist dynamics come to town. The disruption begins when local landowner Master Kent invites a map maker to survey the locality. Unbeknownst to the serfs in his employ, the ultimate goal is to convert most of the property to pasture. The narrative, however, is just a jumping-off point for Tsangari to assemble various painterly tableaux (think Bruegel and Bosch) of a medieval village at work and the power dynamics that get upended when lives and labor are threatened. Caleb Landry Jones is the Candide-like protagonist, attempting to make sense of the brave new world erupting around him. —Rod Armstrong
Biographies
Born in Athens, Greece, Athina Rachel Tsangari appeared in a small role in Richard Linklater’s Slacker (1990) before she started making her own films. She made her first short, Fit (1994), shortlisted for a Student Academy Award, while she was at NYU. Her first feature, The Slow Business of Going (2000), is part of MoMA’s permanent collection. Her other features include Attenberg (Festival 2011) and Chevalier (Festival 2016). She has lectured at universities around the world.
