Filmed on the Yorkshire moors, the directorial debut of Francis Lee is being hailed as the “British Brokeback” for its striking similarities to Ang Lee’s classic. (There’s even a scene that uses spit as lube.)
But several critics are hailing God’s Own Country as superior to Lee’s Oscar-winning film.
The story revolves around a lonely young sheep farmer (Josh O’Connor) who idles away the days binging on booze and having casual flings… until a Romanian migrant worker played by Alec Secareanu enters his life, making everything sexy, confusing, and really quite dramatic.
Related: Sundance Festival standout film “God’s Own Country” called the British “Brokeback”
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Following the film’s premiere at Sundance this year, IndieWire spilled plenty of effusive ink, gushing :
“While the commercial success of Brokeback was a milestone for gay films, many gay viewers took issue with the fate of its star-crossed lovers. Without giving too much away, God’s Own Country mostly avoids such pitfalls.”
The film’s already racked up the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature at the 71st Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Teddy Award for Best LGBT film at the Berlin International Film Festival.
As the October 27 premiere date looms, you can check out the film’s beautiful trailer below:
john.k
I saw this last week at the GAZE film festival in Dublin. It’s slow moving but very good. I recommend it.
drkprc
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this film, and it’s great. Brokeback Mountain is an obvious comparison, and in some ways it tackles similar themes of isolation, but it’s most definitely a queer film that isn’t afraid to tackle the difficult reality of rural life. The lead actor, Josh O’Connor gives a strong performance and overall it makes for a very compelling drama. Add this one to your lists!!
Herman75
This is his first film and a good one. But comparing to BBMtn doesn’t seem fair to me, thinking about the cast and creators involved in BBMtn and that it was directed well into Ang Lee’s career. The two films follow very different story arcs. They have sheep in common, for sure.
God’s Own Country stands on its own merits. I’m curious which critics call it better of the two.
canadianflipper
Definitely recommend this movie. A British Brokeback Mountain it is not; far and away better.
ingyaom
From the preview, it looks like a re-make (and Annie Proulx should get credit).
djmcgamester
Remake? This movie is miles above BBM in quality. BBM was a secret love affair that ended in tragedy. No signs of tragedy in God’s Own Country. Honestly, this movie made me cry because it was so good.
MaxTaste
I would hope it’s better than Brokeback, because that film was terrible.
Walker
Are there subtitles?
jjose712
I read the novel is about the mental issues of one of the main characters, so it’s not a gay love story, even if it has a gay relationship in it.
I hope it became a hit, because Ross Raisin is not published here in Spain and i want to read his novels.
His last novel had some problems to be published because it’s set in football world (european football) so it doesn’t appeal to women, and it has a gay main character so probably won’t appeal to football fans either. But it had great reviews.
Curiously most buzzed gay films this year are adaptations of novels.
ErikO
SO since it’s like Brokeback mountain is it about bisexual men the way Brokeback mountain was?
john.k
There is no suggestion in the film that either of the leads is bisexual.
stub27
This is so much better than BBM, it’s about a gay man coming to terms with his sexuality, and it’s beautifully shot
djmcgamester
I wouldn’t call this the British BBM. It’s probably one of the best gay movies I’ve ever seen. The other two that come to mind are Longtime Companion (the first gay movie I’d ever seen) and Beautiful Thing. All three of these movies have one thing in common: hope. Did BBM leave that kind of message? No, it did not.
The lead characters in GOC were not bisexual. They were homosexual but they just didn’t use the words. Instead, it was a love story and it didn’t matter how they defined their sexuality. (It never came up.)