An uncommon and visually impressive “coming-of-age” story about a fifty-year-old who is finally able to embrace his hitherto stagnant individuality and start a new life accordingly.
Helmer is a 50-year-old farmer living with his ailing and bedridden father, who relies on his son’s help but still lets Helmer know that he has not matched his expectations. The men lead an isolated existence in this stifling atmosphere. From time to time, they are visited by Ada and her son, and Johan, a lorry driver, who shows up to collect the milk. When his father’s condition deteriorates, Hemler decides to move his father up to the attic; and redesign the rooms below. He takes on a young, only 18-year-old farmhand named Henk. While an intimate relationship develops between them, Helmer’s company is also eagerly sought by Johan.
“With this film I was so very sure I was making something completely different... It’s not my own story, it’s about men, it’s in another milieu and also my style of filming is very different from my former films. But in the end, it is very much related to my other films.” (Nanouk Leopold)