The Sower

Filmmaker Marine Francen’s The Sower offers a jolting mix of psychological and romantic drama within a fresh and unpredictable story. Set in France, circa 1851, the story plays out in a rural village where soldiers are under orders from President Louis-Napoléon to kill or capture men suspected of being Republican sympathizers. Consequently, the village finds itself utterly empty of men, which leaves the women to handle all of the farm work. Months pass without men, and the women talk of sharing the first man who should venture into their world. One day, a handsome blacksmith (Alban Lenoir) turns up seeking food and shelter, and young Violette (Pauline Burlet) is assigned to make the male visitor comfortable. But the initial formal nature of their relationship evolves into something deeper and more passionate—which does not sit well with the other local women. While The Sower might seem like a Francophonic riff on the Clint Eastwood classic The Beguiled, it is actually based on Violette Ailhaud’s short story L’homme semence (The Seed Man), which was written in 1919 but not published until 2006. A powerful film that explores emotional anguish under impossible circumstances, this is highly recommended. (P. Hall)