Western (Valeska Grisebach, 2017) Germany | Bulgaria | Austria

Reviewed by Michael G. Viewed at AFI Fest 2017.

Writer and director Valeska Grisebach provides a story of a group of German construction workers on a remote and desolate site in the middle of the Bulgarian countryside. Actor Meinhard Neumann (playing as Meinhard) stars as a strong confidant man desperate to find his place in the world. Reinhardt Wetrek (playing as Vincent) plays the boss of the project who is constantly in conflict with Meinhard and struggles to remain in control. We witness the typical idiosyncratic battles expected as the “team” of men try to persists in the face of material and capital shortages.

The fraternistic quality of this group is highlighted as we see the men take a break to swim in the river. As a group of local girls approach, and the men whistle and holler, we see Vincent push the boundary and touch the girl in river. This sets up the connection that the group will have with the locals in the nearby town. As Meinhard loses his interest in his own group, he begins to venture into the city to get a glimpse of the local Bulgarian village. The film then transitions to show the complete lack of communication between these lingual borders and the frightening reality that Meinhard is faced with-a lingual barrier on the one hand and an emotional barrier with his own workers on the other. The tenseness developed in this lingual barrier is a feeling that Meinhard might even be killed due to some misunderstanding of his intentions.

The story follows as Meinhard discovers with these local Bulgarians,  he  feels more at home than ever. As Meinhard’s relationship with the locals grows, so does the mistrust developing within his own group of German workers. Vincent begins to see Meinhard as a threat to his control and power and begins pursuing a path against him. It is through this process that Meinhard pushes to be away from his own group and spend more time with his new “family”.

Although the film is interesting for its depiction of lingual barriers, it never fully develops into a story with a legitimate purpose. Overall, an interesting film to see but not a highlight that would bring me back for more.