Mansfeld

The film accompanies youngsters Tom, Paul and Sebastian as they prepare for the big day. Repeatedly the boys practice the swinging of the whip, a technique passed on from father to son, though here we also see evidence of changing times, with one of them brought up by two mothers. These are times when everyone is engaged in a struggle for survival, be that at school or work, and the hope is for nothing more than that there might be “work for everyone”. First and foremost the protagonists need to stick together, even though the bonds around them are dissolving. The featured ritual, which unites the passing of both winter and childhood, creates a sense of community: the men roll around in the mud of the thawed out fields and cling to the earth whilst boys in traditional dress, whips in hand, drive them away. An impressive rite of passage portrayed in a rousing and vigorous manner rarely seen on cinema screens. GL