When an estate agent scouting the German countryside for potential property gains, stumbles upon a rundown farm in the middle of no-where, it isn't long before the click of his camera, mirrors the cash register ringing in his mind. Yet to get the sale, he must first locate the owner, only to become increasingly convinced that an uncommunicative
farm hand busy fixing a 'better off in the scrap heap' combine harvester, could well be the last of his line. Only who is this man of mystery and is he really the last one standing?
Shot in 16mm but blown up to 35mm to striking effect, here writer and director Till Kleinert has created a hauntingly sinister tale, one that lures you into its story, just as city boy Christian found himself lured into spending a night with the farm cowboy of the piece, only to end up getting more than he bargained for. For this is a teen who one minute boasts of having slept with every women in the town and the next, is only too keen to be on the receiving end of some manly attention.
Yet talk of my people in a seemingly deserted village suggests things are not quite what they appear to be. For here Kleinert dramatically ups the stakes to deliver a terrifying work full of menace and bloody horror, one in which the male nudity on offer never takes precedence over plot, being but an inherent part of the story. No surprise to learn that this superbly staged short was awarded the 2008 Iris Prize, given this is gay cinema with a difference; namely a decidedly dark tale of gay love and the price paid for both personal and sexual freedom. Need more be said?
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