Acclaimed Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari’s English-language film, Harvest, based on Jim Crace’s novel of the same name, is set in a nameless, possibly Scottish, village during pre-industrial times, just about when man’s capitalistic tendencies started to peak and a strong sense of ownership emerged. We see the village through Walter Thirsk’s eyes. In the opening scene, Walter was seen soaking in the lush green and gold, playing with butterflies, biting into the moss-covered branch of a tree, taking a naked dip in the loch, and just being one with nature. This was how Walter’s life used to be before the fire at the barn drastically changed everything around him. Walter jumped in to save the livestock, and the villagers managed to put out the fire, but they didn’t know who was responsible for it. When three outsiders arrived in the village, they were immediately blamed for starting the fire. Walter figured out they had it all wrong, but somehow he didn’t find the strength to state the truth out loud.
Spoiler Alert
Who started the fire?
In Harvest, the fire acts as an aggravator; it’s almost as if the lives of the villagers could be divided into the pre-fire good days and the post-fire misery. Even though the fire didn’t last long, it introduced the possibility of losing everything at once. The fire was started by three young village boys who were high on shrooms. It was not driven by criminal intent, but was just something they did for amusement. When the lord of the manor, Charles Kent, questioned the villagers, Walter knew he should have told him the truth, but he didn’t. Probably because he was too exhausted and in pain after he’d burned his hand trying to rescue the doves trapped in the barn.
It was the end of harvest season, and Master Kent had promised the villagers a grand feast to celebrate the occasion. After the death of his wife, Lucy, Kent inherited the land, and he continued with the land-sharing tradition that his wife had started, and the villagers got to taste the fruits of their labor. The model was sustainable, and the villagers adored Kent for never being harsh on them. Even after the fire, he stuck to his end of the bargain, and the villagers relished a grand dinner. Meanwhile, when three outsiders, possibly escaping some crisis, arrived at their village, they were accused of having started the fire. The two men were fixed to a pillory, and Kent decided to leave them there for a week to teach them a lesson. Mistress Beldam, who was accompanying the two men, was accused of witchcraft, but instead of tying her up, her hair was chopped off. Some thought she too should have been punished just like the men, but Kitty, the village girl Walter had fallen in love with, reminded them of how the men lustily grabbed locks of her hair, suggesting that she wouldn’t have survived a day. After her hair was chopped, Mistress Beldam ran off, and she mostly lived in the shadows. While some believed that whatever happened next was because of the sorceress, others were convinced that tragedy fell upon them when the chart-maker entered their quaint village.
What was the role of the chart-maker?
The villagers were suspicious of outsiders, and they didn’t like it when Master Kent brought a chartmaker with him. Philip Earle was a professional mapmaker, and at first Walter appreciated the art of mapmaking; the tiny details intrigued him, and he tried to understand the fascination Earle had about naming everything he saw. But soon it became clear to Walter that maps were created to establish ownership of land, to build barriers, and to turn living, breathing human beings into tiny dots on a piece of paper. Walter had realized that a map was essentially a depiction of a place devoid of emotions; it somewhat accurately illustrated the geography of a place, but the map failed to capture the essence of walking through the lush greenery or the sensory experience of taking in the damp, earthy scent. The tiny red dots on the map that were supposed to signify the villagers quite intentionally turned them into insignificant beings in the larger scope of things.
Walt had innocently agreed to assist Earle, but he gradually realized that the mapmaker wasn’t invited to simply create an illustration of their village, but that there was a sinister plan to it as well. He showed Earle around, introduced him to the customs of the village, and took him to the burial ground of his wife, Cecily, that she shared with Mistress Lucy. He hoped Earle would mark the spot as well on his map. Walter emphasized that even though the land belonged to Lucy and Kent, they had the common right to grow food and draw water, and the land had always been theirs (the villagers). Earle felt the need to share news of a recent development with Walter. He empathized with Walter because after seeing the village through his eyes, he too fell in love with the place and appreciated the solace more than anything else. Earle informed Walter that Lucy’s cousin, Master Edmund Jordan, had contested the inheritance. Since Lucy and Kent didn’t have a child of their own, and by law the husband was not related by blood, the cousin had a right over the land, and he was the one who’d been planning significant changes.
What was Edmund Jordan’s plan?
Walter wasn’t born in the village, but he transformed as a person from the day he moved there. Since Walter’s mother was Kent’s wet nurse, the two grew up side by side. Kent used to lend his friend his books, and that was how Walter learned to read, write, and calculate. After Kent decided to marry Lucy Jordan, he brought Walter to the estate, and he immediately fell in love with the place. He also met Cecily there, and his life turned all the more joyful. But his blissful days with his wife were cut short after Cecily died of a bee sting. He always knew that the villagers never considered him one among them and that he would forever be a visitor who overstayed his welcome.
When Earle told him about Edmund Jordan’s inheritance claim, Walter assumed that Kent would protest, but his demeanor changed drastically. Soon, Master Jordan came with his men on horseback and decided to change the way the estate was run. He ridiculed Kent for dressing like the villagers, and he established that they must start living in the manor house that had been locked up all this while. Kent tried to explain that he believed in simple living, but he was too weak to stand up to Master Jordan. He was criticized for being too lenient, and Jordan made it very clear that he intended on running the estate profitably. He had no intention of living in the village, and all he cared about were the figures. Talks of fences and walls to reclaim the forestry began, and it was established that villagers would be cleared from the land and they would no longer have any right over it. While some of the villagers would be employed by the estate, Jordan planned to cut down on labor. Earle had grown attached to the place, and while he was not in the position to protest, he made it clear that he didn’t agree with Jordan’s plans. Kent also disagreed, but he didn’t know how to stop Jordan. He had no legal rights and was likely afraid of jeopardizing his fortune.
Who killed Willowjack?
One day, Lucy’s mare, Willowjack, was found dead. The horse had been stabbed in the head, and it was obvious that someone did it out of spite. Kent was devastated; he’d loved Willowjack dearly, and her demise had deeply affected him. Mistress Beldam had murdered the horse to avenge her lover, who had been fixed on the pillory even though he was innocent. Jordan came to the conclusion that by tracking down blood-stained clothes, they could manage to nab the murderer. Walter was asked to accompany Jordan’s men as they tried to find the perpetrator. The men ransacked the houses of the villagers, and they stared at Walter with disgust. They’d always known that he was not one of them, and his stance proved their point. Walter cared deeply about the village and its people, but he was also loyal to Kent, and he didn’t know which side to choose in this case. Walter refused to work as Earle’s assistant; he couldn’t look at the map as a piece of art anymore, and he accused Earle of flattening (rendering a one-dimensional representation of) the people of the land. Earle didn’t think he was responsible for destroying the lives of the villagers; he was simply doing his job. Though for Walter, his job itself guaranteed the destruction of many lives.
Who Killed Earle?
A little girl, Lizzie Carr, who lived in the village, found Mistress Beldam’s blood-stained shawl. When Jordan’s men saw her, they assumed she had killed Willowjack. The villagers protested, but the men didn’t pay heed to their cries. Kitty Gosse and Anne Rogers refused to let the men take Lizzie with them, and they announced that if they took Lizzie, they would also go along with her. The rest of the village watched the commotion. The three young men responsible for the fire in the barn planned on leaving the village, as they feared facing similar consequences. Anne and Kitty were taken to the manor, and they were dragged into a room where they were assaulted by Jordan’s men. The villagers accused Walter of being a traitor, and they refused to involve him in their plans to free Kitty and Anne.
Kent protested; he threatened the men to open the door, but they didn’t listen to him. Since the villagers had come to the conclusion that the chart-maker was responsible for their misfortune, Kitty and Anne told Jordan’s men that the blood-stained shawl belonged to him. Little Lizzie corroborated their story, and the hunt for Earle began. Earle finally knew how it felt to be accused of a crime he’d never committed, and he offered the man fixed to the pillory some water to drink. When he saw Mistress Beldam, he followed her, promising that he didn’t have any evil intentions. Beldam ran at first, but she decided to eventually confront Earle. She accused him of destroying their village, suggesting that a similar incident had taken place somewhere close by and they had no choice but to leave their village. Earle always tried to distance himself from the injustice that followed after he made the maps, but towards the end, he ultimately couldn’t wash his hands of his sins. Beldam relieved herself on him, and she killed Earle.
Walter begged Kent to put an end to the misery of the villagers, but after seeing him in pants and waistcoat, he figured that Kent had become a puppet in the hands of Jordan. Both Kent and Walter were aware that they’d failed to defend the lifestyle they fell in love with. They didn’t push back, possibly because deep down they never truly belonged with the people. They wanted to, they tried to, but they came from a certain privileged background, and no matter how hard they tried, it was impossible for them to belong. Kent didn’t have much to lose; he could always head back to town and live a life of comfort. And the fact that Walter belonged neither with the villagers nor with Kent left him in a strange position where he couldn’t really take any concrete steps.
Why happened to Kitty and Anne?
When one of Jordan’s men came searching for Earle in the village, the villagers kicked and punched him. After they carved his face, they realized that they needed to cut his tongue out as well to keep him from narrating the incident. But even then they knew that Jordan would figure out what had happened and they would be killed. They feared that Jordan was bringing in soldiers, and they figured that they could start their lives anew outside their village. The villagers decided to leave; they didn’t really have a choice. Walter warned them that they would end up in the heaps of forgettable faces in town, but the villagers preferred joining the labor force instead of living under the constant fear of being hunted down. Meanwhile, Kitty and Anne managed to leave the manor house thanks to Beldam, who brought a horse and a rope to help the girls escape. Kitty had previously protected Beldam; she knew it was her who had killed Willowjack, but she sympathized with her. Even though they barely knew each other, Kitty figured that, as women, they were subjected to the same injustice, so they might as well help out one another. Beldam returned the favor, and the girls successfully escaped.
What does the final scene suggest?
After the villagers left, Jordan announced that he too would be heading to town accompanied by Kent. He was glad that the village was empty, and he looked forward to turning it into a settlement. Jordan asked Walter to stay back and wait for the hired hands to arrive, who would settle in the abandoned cottages. They would eventually cut down the trees and build stalls for the sheep. Later, during autumn, the shepherds would arrive, and that was when Walter would be paid his wage. He was advised to set the hostage free only after he had served his hours and Kent left Walter with the keys. Kent promised Walter that he would ensure that the women were eventually set free after they reached town. By then it had become very clear to Walter that Kent barely had any say in things. Also, he had no idea that Kitty and Anne had already escaped, though Lizzie continued to be held captive. The little girl was seen leaving with Kent and Jordan, oblivious to the uncertain life that awaited her. Walter got high on shrooms after everyone left. He eventually released the outsider and asked him to take whatever he wanted from the abandoned cottages.
In Harvest’s ending, Beldam and her lover left the village in a horse-drawn cart with a load of goods. Even though Walter was not expected to grow crops, he believed it was his duty to do so, and he promised to keep the green alive. Walter had also set the cottages on fire, suggesting that he didn’t want the hired hands to have a place to live. According to an old village custom, they would forcefully bump the children’s heads against the boundary stones so that they never forgot where they belonged. In the final shot, Walter banged his head against the boundary stone—he finally belonged to the village. Walter clearly no longer cared about the future. He hoped to spend the rest of his days in the village doing what he loved, and he didn’t care about Jordan’s plan. He would try to do anything and everything in his power to ensure that the estate wasn’t significantly altered. But eventually, that might result in his death, because Jordan and his men wouldn’t care for his protest. But the land was all Walter had left, and he would rather die defending it than do nothing at all.
