"Afrikaners is plesierig, dit can julle glo (Afrikaners are fun, that you can believe)," runs the chorus of the rustiest chestnut in Afrikaans folk music. It isn't heard, much less proven, in 'The Harvesters', South African writer-director Etienne Kallos' muscular, mood-rich debut feature. Unusual within the annals of its national cinema for its searching examination of the country's once-dominant, now-dwindling white Afrikaner population, this sternly moving, vividly shot rural drama draws quasi-Biblical resonance from its tale of teenage foster brothers locked in a familial and cultural power struggle on a remote farmstead. That a low-key queer undercurrent courses through the conflict somewhat broadens the festival and distribution prospects of the film, the fine social divisions of which will nonetheless be unfamiliar to many outside viewers; in a Cannes edition heavy on auspicious debuts, this is among the most excitingly complete." (Variety)

"A brooding drama which pits the teenaged son of a deeply religious family against the adopted orphan he believes will usurp him. Although austere and restrained in its approach, this assured feature debut effectively hints at a churning savagery beneath the surface, which is every bit as unforgiving as the stark landscape." (Screen Daily)