Film critics | "The Little Farmer": The Bloody Disaster of a French Idyllic Town

In "The Little Farmer", we have no shortage of such pictures: blue sky, white clouds, trees in the distance, simple houses, green meadows in the near distance, and herds of cattle and sheep, which is a scene of French pastoral life that people yearn for. The film tells the story of Pierre, a 35-year-old man, and 26 cows on his farm, and not long after the story begins, a cow suddenly becomes infected with an infectious disease.

There was a time when many countries in Europe were caught in a mad cow disease panic. "The Little Farmer" uses the experience of the low-level small people to express this real fear, Pierre found the diseased cattle on his farm, the consequences can be imagined, in order to control the spread of the disease, the government will definitely send someone to shoot the other 25 cows to shoot. After a game of emotion and reason, Pierre finally plans to fight fate with the cows and live and die together.

The moment he decided to hide the epidemic, Pierre, a small farmer, had already embarked on a road of no return. When the first cow was infected, he wanted to shoot the cow in one shot, but he couldn't bear it, and then with tears in his eyes, he disposed of the cow with an axe and then transported the cow's carcass to the suburbs to be burned. Lucky did not patronize Pierre, the little farmer, and then the second cow was infected. More seriously, Pierre himself developed symptoms of infection, high fever, drowsiness, and severe suppuration and bleeding in the back.

The film has two scenes that can be described as shocking, one is about new life and the other is about destruction. The newborn is Pierre's bridge section of delivering calves, he is full of delicate feelings of pity and love for animals, showing the warmth between humans and animals to the fullest; destruction is the scene of Pierre's bath after infection, his back is full of white pus and blood, helpless and sad.

The debut of "The Little Farmer" at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival surprised people's eyes. When it was released in France, it also gained a good reputation. It is also because of this film that director Hubert Charrell attracted the attention of film critics. "The Little Farmer" is The Directorial Debut of Hubert Charrur, and the reason for its success is not only the actor's divine acting skills, but also the super high realism of the entire film, which seems to be due to director and screenwriter Hubert Charrell having a farmer father. Many of the film's scenes come from the director's own farm. In addition to the emotional expression of people and animals living on an equal footing, the film also intentionally or unintentionally reveals the impact of the undercurrent of agricultural crisis on small dairy farmers. What resonates most with the audience in the film is the panic and anxiety of the little people under the pressure. In order to survive, the hero needs to make up one lie after another to hide the truth, and the deep-seated reason why he is so desperate to take risks is to continue to live in that picturesque town as always. His tragic fate seems to exist to reflect the poetry of the town. This contrast creates a huge impact.

Author: Li Hebei Source: Yangtze Evening News Editor: Hua Mingyue