Ravens

This debut by former photo-journalist Jens Assur is set in 1978 and shows ten months from the life of Agne, a taciturn and stubborn farmer. His mixed farm is in a bare and muddy landscape full of stones. This leasehold land has been farmed by his family for generations, but it looks as if his eldest son, Klas, does not want to continue the family business. Klas prefers to watch birds with his binoculars than help with the potato harvest. And then a girl from Stockholm turns up in the countryside. The hard life of Agne and his family is put under extra pressure when the landowner makes a proposal for modernisation.
Ravens is beautifully filmed, with much sympathy for agrarian life, and is also blessed with exceptional acting. The film is full of beautiful details and scenes: making mince, servicing a cow, a languid barn party and a humorous discussion about the setting sun.