La Terre

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Nick M A farmer grows too old to work his land and splits it amongst his children who all treat him and each other like garbage until he finally expires, cold and alone. It felt less like a story in the traditional sense and more like a series of interconnected events moving in the same direction - more like the flow of life than a constructed narrative. That seems to have been the point based on what I've read of the director, André Antoine, whose work is new to me. He took the approach of mixing professional actors with ordinary folk from the region in France that served as the setting of the film to increase its feeling of naturalism. I wish I could say that this all works, but it didn't for me. It wasn't a dull picture, and it didn't completely lack momentum, but it was difficult to find its pulse or glean a point of view. The farmer has a conversation with a shepherd toward the end that one might boil down to "you reap what you sow", but ultimately there was only one person who seemed to actually be content with her lot in the entire picture, and we never get enough of a sense of her character to be able to connect her meaningfully to this conversation. Moreover, the performances generally lacked color, and I never found myself caring about any of them, nor did I really ever develop much of a curiosity as to where their stories were headed. Pretty bland for a tragedy, all told. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/09/25 Full Review Audience Member "La Terre" is rather like "King Lear"--only much more grim. The images remind me of Peter Henry Emerson's photographs of rural England in the 19th century. My only complaint with the film is it could've used a bit more editing--some of the scenes were a bit redundant. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews

La Terre

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