Paul Jan
The Rumanian boy who learned english from his mother who teaches english in Rumania is the only one in the picture who speaks understandable english. As a Rumanian not used to the local dialect there should be a lot of misunderstandings in the movie between the characters. Just to make the movie more realistic... He comes to a farm and understands everybody... totally unacceptable in my view.
rpechon-94640
This is definitely one of those movies that you watch at around 3 am when you can't sleep and you're so exhausted that nothing makes sense but everything that matters does. It is a slow burner moving but the connection that is established between the two main characters is worth every part of this movie. John was a little of annoying character to me because he always seemed lethargic but when it mattered most he was pretty alert. The chemistry between the two men shines through the fa-nominal acting displayed by the actors. Very much worth the watch if you want to spend the time and want something that will last in your heart/thoughts for a while.
startlepoint
A charismatic man travels from the East to heal and to spread love: this Christ-like variation set as a secular gay love story is appealing. The Romanian gentleman is like a savior of sorts who cures the dying lambs -- both the animals and John Saxby. The love scenes are among the best I've seen in a gay film. Also, the story, though possible, is less than plausible, particularly because the Romanian happens to be the only applicant for the temporary job on the Saxby farm, making the union of the two men more miraculous than likely. This mystical overtone might explain why the Romanian's saliva can somehow heal John's stigmata wound.These factors are why I enjoyed the film. However, the director Simon Lee, who admits to not thinking about Brexit at all when making the film, now uses the issue to make anti-Brexit statements -- as if Brexit would have barred the Romanian from entering the country at all, which is not what Brexit is really about. With or without Brexit, the chance encounter of these two gentlemen would have been just as possible and/or improbable. The movie is at its weakest in the scene at the pub when Saxby just sits there and lets the pub owners give him and his friend dagger eyes. It is so unconvincing that I wonder if there is more to it than what the final cut provides. Take a look at the deleted scenes: one in which Saxby stops at some park to cruise. A man he pursues wears the identical jacket as the man in the pub who splashes beer on Saxby's boyfriend, and he does so after Saxby whispers something in the man's ear before going off to the toilet to indulge in his old anonymous sex habit. Could the man in the pub be staring wickedly because he might be jealous? Could the woman be looking so nasty because she is just sick of Saxby coming to the pub and getting so drunk that they have to pour him into a cab on a regular basis? Who knows how much puke she might have had to clean up on previous evenings during his visits?Simon Lee gets defensive when people assume that the farm community in Yorkshire is homophobic. Homophobia is not an issue at all, according to him. But the idea of the pub owners being so xenophobic that they cannot stand the thought of a handsome, well-behaved, paying Romanian customer on the premises -- and accompanied by a regular local customer -- seems much more far fetched and patronizing.These issues get in the way of my enjoyment of what I believe Simon Lee intended as a love story about two lonely misfits. But he and Josh O'Connor seem intent on giving it an anti-Brexit spin that ultimately cheapens the film's impact. They should both shut up and just let the movie play!
