Beautifully acted and rich with emotion, Édouard Bergeon’s debut feature In the Name of the Land follows the fate of a son who inherits his father’s farm. In the late 70s, Pierre (Guillaume Canet, Non-Fiction) returns to his hometown in France to marry his beloved childhood sweetheart Claire (Veerle Baetens, The Broken Circle Breakdown) and take the reins of his family farm. For a spell, life is idyllic, as Pierre and Claire’s family grows and they enjoy the simple pleasures of rural life. But when the business is placed under immense financial pressure and Pierre begins to amass insurmountable debts, things begin to spiral downwards. Based on Bergeon’s own childhood and dedicated to his parents, this is a poignant, deeply personal look at the many issues farmers face.
★★★★ “Heartfelt, intimate and rich with observation” — The Sydney Morning Herald
French
English
France, Belgium