God’s Own Country(2017)

Not Rated
1h 44m
- Drama
- Romance

Release Date: Oct 24, 2017 | Limited

Spring. Yorkshire. Young farmer Johnny Saxby numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker for lambing season ignites an intense relationship that sets Johnny on a new path.

Official Website

Releases

Original Release | Oct 24, 2017

Box Office

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$17,768
Total US & Canada:
$335,609
Total International
$2,196,900
Total Worldwide:
$2,532,534

Director & Top Cast

Francis Lee
Director

Naveed Choudhry
Male Nurse

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Aspect Ratio 1.85:1

Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Language: English,Romanian,Bulgarian

Summaries

Plot Summary

In Yorkshire, Johnny lives on the family farm with his father, Martin, and grandmother, Deirdre. Because his father had suffered a stroke and 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 died from a breech birth in his absence.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. When one of the ewes gives birth to an unconscious runt, Johnny is intrigued when Gheorghe is able to resuscitate and care for it. 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 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. 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 experience has taught him not to believe they can stay together and maintain the farm simultaneously. 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. ( Credit Wikipedia )

Storyline

Spring. Yorkshire. Isolated young sheep farmer Johnny Saxby numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker Gheorghe, employed for the lambing season, ignites an intense relationship that sets Johnny on a new path. Johnny Saxby has turned into a sullen young man in needing to take on the proverbial and literal heavy lifting at the family's sheep and cattle farm in Northern England following his father Martin Saxby's stroke, which has rendered him physically disabled, and he requiring a cane to walk still with difficulty. Johnny has taken on this role without much passion and thus without placing much effort into it, especially as Martin is still looking over his shoulder at every turn. Johnny relieves his boredom by drinking to excess at the pub - he getting to the point of needing to vomit every time - and, gay, having casual, indiscriminate and passionless sex with whichever bloke he meets. During the busy birthing season, Martin hires Gheorghe Ionescu, a Romanian migrant farm worker, for a one week period. There is an immediate animosity between Johnny and Gheorghe largely over dealing with the stereotype Johnny has of all Romanians being shifty Romanis aka gypsies. In reality, Gheorghe, who grew up on such a farm back home, knows his farming well and places much care in it unlike Johnny. While Johnny and Gheorghe are away on a several day trip to work on a remote part of the farm, their animosity leads to some physicality between them which further leads to some sexual tension and ultimately a sexual relationship. In their solitude, their relationship turns more intimate, something that has never happened before for Johnny. Gheorghe, who is more experienced in true matters of the heart than Johnny, knows the current status of their relationship is unsustainable, something that Johnny may never get a point to in never having been there. Their relationship however does give Johnny a better understanding of how to live in his path on the farm with his parents especially in the circumstance of Martin's poor and deteriorating health. — Huggo Since his father Martin's disabling stroke, adolescent Johnny Saxby needs to grow up fast and step up to save the Yorkshire family's sheep and cattle farm, but it's not his choice and grumpy ingrate parental meddling doesn't help to motivate, so he drowns his sorrows in too much ale frequently, often vomiting afterwards, limiting his further social life to meaningless gay one-offs. For the back-breaking lambing season, Martin hires for a week Gheorghe Ionescu, an actually experienced Romanian migrant farm worker, with more professional dedication. Despite ignorantly calling the 'intruder' a gypsy, Johnny learns from him, and after jumping each-other's bones in the mud on the meadows, they start his first-ever more intimate relationship, yet it has no future, but provides some mentoring Johhny can use on all fronts. — KGF Vissers