To tame the savageness of man is a noble endeavor, one that I believe can make the world, as the quote goes, a gentler place. The trick is to figure out what to tame, because to harness and subdue the wrong parts of a person can be an act of violence unto itself.
That is just one of the metaphors swirling around in The Harvesters, a South African drama about two teenage boys growing up under the rigid rules of an Afrikaner farming community. One, Janno (Brent Vermeulen), has been with his adoptive family for years and has been molded into the ideal young man. The other, Pieter (Alex van Dyk), is picked up from the city streets and brought there to be reformed. Pieter proves to be a more difficult case than anyone anticipated, though, and his stubborn refusal to play by their rules rips the comfortable veneer off the entire community, at least for Janno.
Writer and director Etienne Kallos never lets this monumental shift blow out into melodrama, instead restricting the storytelling to the monotony and repression that this community exists in. It’s a film with uncomfortable weight, one that slowly but surely crushes you in the way any society presses on those who don’t fit in.
God And Country
Kallos displays an excellent feel for the environment of his story, the tension between rural space and the limited options of his characters, one that fits with a growing renaissance worldwide of such striking metaphors. America has seen the rise of the modern western led by Kelley Reichardt, Australia has exported Sweet Country and The Nightingale to great acclaim, and now Kallos brings the South African countryside into the mix, using the tried and true method of linking his characters to the dirt, to the grime, of problems so deeply entrenched in their respective countries that it seems impossible to wash off. Here it’s suffocating gender norms, racism, homophobia, and a desperate cling to ethnic superiority.
The film opens with Janno walking into center frame silently herding cattle, one of several bodies moving slowly, methodically, about their task. The first words are a prayer from his mother, a plea for her son to be strong and good. The trifecta of family, religion, and isolation means he’s being herded as much as the cattle are, and he appears just as docile.
This herding metaphor is just one of the ways Kallos links Janno to his farming community, where he at first appears so deeply enmeshed that it seems he’s bought into the lifestyle wholeheartedly. Cracks slowly appear, though, and through Pieter Janno gets a glimpse of a different world. There’s suddenly hope that his repressed feelings can be expressed, can find a comfortable outlet, but it’s unclear whether he can truly escape his suffocating upbringing.
History Looms Without Explanation
Kallos’ isn’t interested in spelling everything out neatly, expecting the audience to pick up on subtle cues that are dropped piecemeal throughout the narrative. That’s all well and good for experiences that cross cultures like Janno’s attraction to other boys and the racial divide that exists within their community, but there’s a lot going on here that’s specific to South African culture that gets lost in the moody haze.
If you do know the situation of Afrikaners post-apartheid, then The Harvesters will likely have a more layered meaning and focused narrative than it does for those of us not in the know. Sure, it gives us outsiders a little bit of history through throwaway lines referencing their retreat to farmlands and the violence occasionally brought on them as a minority group, but the intricacies of their brutal reign, fall from power, and subsequent struggle for survival is surely more complicated than is hinted at.
One can sense that more is going on in The Harvesters than is being outright explained, and while that reticence to clearly state everything allows Kallos to delicately unfold the story, the fact that he never does a full reveal makes the movie a little too murky for its own good. What is the primary wedge driving itself between Janno, Pieter, and their adopted community? Religion, racism, homophobia, or some toxic blend of all of the above that exists in the Afrikaner community that is never fully brought into focus?
Characters Hold Attention
Even if the narrative isn’t always clear, The Harvesters does manage to keep a steady eye on character, and the two boys at its center are such complicated messes that they’re hard to look away from.
Janno and Pieter are purposeful opposites: the former is becoming a sturdy young man with a stiff upper lip while the latter is a slender spitfire that seems destined to upset any room he enters. Pieter is undoubtedly the one that pops more easily onscreen, which van Dyk plays with aplomb, but Kallos coaxes an intriguing face off between the two characters, pitting them against each other in a way that manages to make them both entrancing.
The interiority of Janno is delicately played by Vermeulen, who communicates everything bubbling inside his character through an unnatural stiffness. You can feel him holding back, and there’s a sense that what might come out when he finally uncorks will be more dangerous than anything Pieter could muster.
It’s this threat that keeps your attention on Janno, even as Pieter makes trouble again and again with his outbursts. Either has the potential to break the community around them or to be broken by it; the only certainty is that their struggle is destined for a violent end.
Conclusion: The Harvesters
A community brings crushing expectations down on two teenage boys in The Harvesters, and instead of banding together, they face off in a low-key battle for survival. Nothing is immediately dangerous about their situation, but as the rules slowly constrict them, it becomes apparent that neither can stay in this place for long. Kallos captures this revelation with a steady and uncomfortable gaze, one that matches their growing sense of entrapment.
Have you seen The Harvesters? If so, what did you think of the movie? Let us know in the comments!
The Harvesters was released in the US on September 13th, 2019. For all international release dates, click here.
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