God's Own Country

[CellarDweller]

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 Secareanu. The plot follows a young sheep farmer in Yorkshire whose life is transformed by a male 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.

In Yorkshire, Johnny lives on the family farm with his father, Martin, and grandmother, Deirdre. Due to his father having 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 organized 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.

[ChadCoxRox]

Bittersweet for real. Love.

[JoelR]

It was a beautiful film. I loved so many elements of the film: the birth of lamps and spring as a backdrop of the awakening of their love; the harsh solitude and loneliness driving them together; the harsh lighting that becomes warmer as the movie progresses.