Harvest (2024 film)

The film is set in Scotland during the late Middle Ages, depicting the forced expropriation of peasants from the feudal common land owing to the enclosures, and their transformation into propertyless workers.^[3][4][5][6]

• Caleb Landry Jones as Walter Thirsk
• Harry Melling as Mayor Charles Kent
• Rosy McEwen as Kitty Gosse
• Arinzé Kene as Phillip "Quill" Earle
• Thalissa Teixeira as Mistress Beldam
• Frank Dillane as Edmund Jordan
• Stephen McMillian as Brooker Higgs
• Logan Buchanan
• Gary Maitland
• Noor Dillan-Night
• Antonia Quirke^[7]
• Ruby Heritage Crabb
• Maya Bonniwell
• Chester Hayes
• Oran Charlton
• Gregor Warnock
• Holly Blakey
• Lupi Moll
• Lisa Thompson
• Andrew MacKeand
• Tom Bonniwell
• Nicola Moll
• Jack Mackay
• Edith Elliott
• Paul Fegan
• William Alexander
• Leonie Charlton
• Rory Barraclough
• OG

Development

Athina Rachel Tsangari was attached to direct the film in November 2020 with the project having a script from Joslyn Barnes adapting the Booker Prize–nominated novel by Jim Crace from 2013.^[8] Production on the project is by Rebecca O'Brien for Sixteen Films (UK) and Joslyn Barnes for Louverture Films (USA), with co-production from the Match Factory (Germany).^[9]

Casting

Caleb Landry Jones is cast in the film. Whilst attending the Venice Film Festival to promote the Luc Besson film Dogman in August 2023, he spoke throughout in a Scottish accent. Besson explained that he was method acting for a new role, which The Hollywood Reporter reported was for Harvest.^[10] Jones later confirmed to la Repubblica that this was true.^[11] In February 2024, Harry Melling, Rosy McEwen, Arinzé Kene, Thalissa Teixeira, and Frank Dillane were revealed to be cast in the film.^[12] The cast also includes Stephen McMillan, Gary Maitland and Noor Dillan-Night.^[13]

Filming

Principal photography took place in Argyll, Scotland.^[14] The film was shot on 16mm.

The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on 3 September 2024,^[15] and will also play at the Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2024.^[16][17] In October, the film was selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 under the World Cinema section.^[18]

In August 2024, Mubi acquired distribution rights to the film in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Benelux and Latin America.^[19]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 73% of 51 critics' reviews are positive.^[20]

Davide Abbatescianni of Cineuropa argued that the film is "imbued with a rather unique bucolic, violent and, at times, surreal atmosphere" but found that the "treatment of the nature versus culture conflict is perhaps not so memorable, and it lacks punch in comparison with more powerful works on the same themes."^[21]