...a film that simmers rather than boils, but Grisebach conjures an atmosphere and intensity which seeps into every inch of the screen.

Full Review | Feb 13, 2020

The film manages to stick around more than I expected, and the memories I have of it are pleasant indeed.

Full Review | Jan 9, 2020

The feeling of constant threat adds density to an atmosphere that rises as the true protagonist of the film. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 18, 2019

Perhaps its most lingering and disquieting idea is that perhaps the western, with its mythical visions of cowboys taming a wild land, wasn't quite as noble and benign as once we imagined.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 3, 2019

Neumann does an impressive work here, embracing his first role with natural ease and assuming great part of the responsibility in making of the tale a grounded and sincere experience.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 28, 2019

Western knows there is a hierarchy in remembered violence.

Full Review | Jan 24, 2019

Two hours is a long time to tell a story as unadorned as this one, but Valeska Grisebach packs a surprising amount of tension in unexpected corners.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 4, 2019

Manhood is the theme of German director Valeska Grisebach's WESTERN, which takes place in the Bulgarian countryside, where German workers are constructing a hydroelectric power plant.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 4, 2018

Valeska Grisebach explores male group dynamics, aggression, class resentments and xenophobia in modern day Eastern Europe utilizing oater genre tropes and a non-professional cast.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Nov 12, 2018

A slow-burning and tense drama which brings the Wild West to the Balkans.

Full Review | Nov 8, 2018

Western ... is, by the way, very far from being a mere referential game of western cinema: the dramatic structure of the genre is there, no doubt, but what happens does not necessarily agree with what we expect. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 6, 2018

Although the characters onscreen learn all too well how being unaware of history they're doomed to repeat it, the writer/director takes what she knows to boldly capture a time.

Full Review | Oct 22, 2018

This film by the German Valeska Grisebach retakes the essence of the classic genre alluded to in the title, but gives it more subtle forms, changing the duels and shootings by gestures and conversations. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Sep 13, 2018

The director Valeska Grisebach maintains a powerful acting force and scenes of pulsating drama where understanding reigns despite the ignorance of the foreign language. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 10, 2018

Grisebach draws these men with three-dimensional, complex identities and watches them butt heads and shake hands knowing their inherent drama is enough.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Aug 28, 2018

Western is a quietly captivating, subtle film that will stay with you and leave you thinking for a long time.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 27, 2018

The final product winds up being unsatisfactory. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 21, 2018

It should not be overlooked that in a story in which the protagonists are men, the eyes of a woman [director Valeska Grisebach] dissects them perfectly. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jun 21, 2018

[Director Valeska] Grisebach's film continuously keeps the viewer in a latent state of tension and threat. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jun 19, 2018

With proverbial lucidity, Western expertly presents the contrasted weapons of black humor and border poetry. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jun 18, 2018