Movie Review: Western

Western **** / *****

Directed by: Valeska Grisebach.

Written by: Valeska Grisebach.

Starring: Meinhard Neumann (Meinhard), Reinhardt Wetrek (Vincent), Syuleyman Alilov Letifov (Adrian), Veneta Fragnova (Veneta), Viara Borisova (Vyara), Kevin Bashev (Wanko), Aliosman Deliev (Mancho), Momchil Sinanov (Manchos Großvater), Robert Gawellek (Tommy), Jens Klein (Jens), Waldemar Zang (Boris), Detlef Schaich (Helmuth), Sascha Diener (Marcel), Enrico Mantei (Wolle), Gulzet Zyulfov (Gulzet), Kostadin Kerenchev (Kostadin), Katerina Dermendzhieva (Elena).

 

Valeska Grisebach’s Western is a film that lives up to its name, even if it’s actually set in Eastern Europe (Bulgaria), takes place in the present, and doesn’t involve anyone with a six shooter. Still, her inspiration is clearly the Western genre – most notably is probably John Ford – and she finds a way to tell this story of a culture clash in a way that will bring to mind all those old Westerns, but with a modern outlook. The film meanders – it takes it time getting anywhere, and builds slowly. But that works marvelously for this film.

 

The film centers on Meinhard (Meinhard Neumann – an auto-worker by trade, giving a truly great performance here) – who is one of the German laborers who come to a small Bulgarian town to build a hydro-electric plant. For the most part, the Germans are an insular bunch – subtly (and perhaps not so subtly) looking down on the backwoods hicks of this Bulgarian town, and doing very little to try and interact with them. Meinhard is different – he often spends time alone even when he is around the other Germans – and slowly, he starts to make more friends with the locals than with the laborers, it starts when he finds a white horse in the woods – and is literally the stranger coming to town on a horse. He finds the horses’ owner, and little by little, gains the trust and friendship of (some) of the locals. This puts him in increasing conflict with Vincent (Reinhardt Wetrek) – the hotheaded leader of the German laborers. He is also the only other German who tries to really interact with the locals – but his behavior is boorish – starting when he harasses some young women while swimming.

 

One of the film’s producers is Maren Ade – the brilliant German filmmaker whose masterwork Toni Erdmann tackled some similar issues, but in a more comedic (and, to be honest, complex) way as she examined a German businesswoman’s work in Romania. But that film was a more corporate animal – looking at the business relationships in the European Union, whereas Western sets its sites closer to the ground level. If workers are going to movie across borders to work, how are they all going to get along. What does Nationalism mean in a world where immigration is more fluid? In Western, everything is built off fear of the other – and the film doesn’t really take sides in that. It doesn’t paint the wealthy Germans as evil and the Bulgarians are backwoods hicks – but it does play off of each groups perception of each other. In many ways, Meinhard is the only one trying to bridge the gap – but he can only go so far.

 

Western is trying to do a lot – but it’s trying to do it all quietly. The film is visually stunning in its way, but it basically sits back and observes from a certain remove, not really wanted to get too involved in the action, as if that may indicate what side she’s on. This is true right up until the end of the film – where both Vincent and Meinhard are at a party of sorts thrown by the locals. They each have a choice to make in that moment – and they make it. The difference in their choices tells you everything you need to know about them.

 

Western is a quiet film – probably too quiet to garner all that much attention. Despite getting a lot of acclaim, the film barely managed a theatrical release, and (at least here in Canada) never got a digital release either (I found it on DVD at my local library – always a great place to find these smaller gems). But it’s a film that deserves attention – and it’s one whose reputation will likely grow in the coming years.