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God’s Own Country is a 2017 British romantic drama film written and directed by Francis Lee in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Josh O’Connor and Alec Secăreanu. The plot follows a young sheep farmer in Yorkshire whose life is transformed by a Romanian migrant worker.
Upon release, the film received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised the performances (particularly O’Connor’s) and story, as well as commending it as a promising start for Lee. It was the only UK-based production to feature in the world drama category at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the world cinema directing award.
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Plot
In Yorkshire, Johnny lives on the family farm with his father, Martin, and grandmother, Deirdre. Because his father had suffered a stroke and because of his grandmother’s age, much of the day-to-day running of the farm falls to Johnny. In his free time, Johnny engages in binge drinking and furtive sexual encounters with other men. Returning late to the farm after such an encounter with a young auctioneer, he is berated by his father because a calf has nearly died from a breech birth in his absence. Johnny proposes to call a veterinarian, but Martin has him shoot the still alive calf instead.
Gheorghe, a Romanian migrant worker, is hired as extra help for the lambing season. He arrives and spends his first night in a caravan that the family has organised as his accommodation. As the ewes have moved away from the main part of the farm, and as part of the farm’s boundary wall remains unrepaired by Johnny, it is decided that Johnny and Gheorghe should spend several days camping nearer to the animals.
Gheorghe quietly disapproves of the old-fashioned way the farm is run, without proper veterinary care or even antiseptics for wounded or sick animals. When one of the ewes gives birth to an unconscious runt, Johnny, following on his father’s way of running the farm, is about to let it die, but is intrigued when Gheorghe is able to resuscitate and care for it instead. One morning, after Johnny refers to Gheorghe yet again as a “gypsy“, Gheorghe tackles him to the ground and warns Johnny not to speak that way to him again.
The next day, the two men again engage in a fight which results in Johnny performing fellatio on Gheorghe and the two men have rough and passionate sex in the dirt. While Johnny initially does not acknowledge the encounter, the two share cigarettes and a sugar packet[5] for their cup noodles throughout the day. That night, Gheorghe resists Johnny’s aggressive move to have sex, instead patiently showing him that sex can also be tender, and the two men kiss for the first time.
Returning to the farm, Johnny invites Gheorghe to stay with him in the house, but Gheorghe elects to remain in the caravan. When Martin suffers a second stroke, Johnny realises that running the farm is now entirely his responsibility, and he asks Gheorghe to stay on with him. Gheorghe responds that the experience has taught him they cannot maintain the farm the way it is currently run, stressing it would be a serious professional and personal commitment. Johnny reacts poorly, drinking to excess and engaging in another random sexual encounter. When Gheorghe realises what Johnny has done, he abruptly leaves the farm.
Martin is released from the hospital but is now fully debilitated. Johnny, desperate to make up with Gheorghe, tells his father that he will stay to run the farm, but that things must be run on his terms. Martin gives his tacit approval to Johnny, who sets off to bring Gheorghe back to the farm. After he finds Gheorghe working in Scotland, the two men reconcile. Gheorghe returns with Johnny; the caravan is taken away, and Gheorghe moves into the house.[6][7]
Cast
- Josh O’Connor as Johnny Saxby
- Alec Secăreanu as Gheorghe Ionescu
- Gemma Jones as Deirdre Saxby, Johnny’s grandmother and Martin’s mother
- Ian Hart as Martin Saxby, John’s father and Deirdre’s son
