The third feature from German film-maker Valeska Grisebach sharply observes two intersecting communities of men with a woman’s needling gaze. Though titled Western, it is set in eastern Europe, close to Bulgaria’s Greek border (hinting at the presence of refugees). Wild country – politically volatile, physically harsh, and its own kind of wild west frontier. Lonely cowboy Meinhard (Meinhard Neumann) is a German construction worker and former legionnaire sent to spend the summer building a hydroelectric power plant in rural Bulgaria. We’re helping them,” says one of Meinhard’s xenophobic coworkers, incensed by the idea that their presence, signalled tactlessly by a newly hung German flag, might be unwelcome.

Source: The Guardian April 15, 2018 06:56 UTC