Locarno review: Late Harvest (2025)
Pardi di Domani
Corti d’Autore
A collection of still lifes. A forest and a field in autumn. One object, dozens of forms. Directed by Katharina Huber, the experimental short film Late Harvest is competing in Concorso Corti d’Autore, a part of the Pardi di Domani section during the 78th Locarno Film Festival. Its static camera patiently follows two characters, a little girl (Alexandra Huber) and an elderly woman (Charlotte Marsan), using knives in different ways: cracking nuts, cleaning them of mud or sticking them into the soil.
The filmmaker experimented with different angles and frames to present an exhaustive point of view. Whether establishing shots, full shots, medium shots or close-ups, every single one is remarkably crafted, with a picturesque composition resembling modern paintings. An obnoxious white noise can be heard throughout the short, intensifying and stopping abruptly in key moments. It becomes a background track for the piano arrangements, which convey a certain chillness that even the warm chromatic cannot counter.
While the film depicts nothing but domestic uses of the blades, a series of elements hint at one of its much darker purposes. The print on the girl’s hoodie, shown clearly in the beginning, is already bizarre and unsettling, since it features Donald Trump’s notorious raised-fist photo taken during the latest failed assassination attempt. But the eerie feeling returns even stronger when she starts singing, and then humming, a creepy song about a late harvest inspired by the murder ballad Mack the Knife from Bertolt Brecht’s Threepenny Opera. Thus, the underlying violence of the past and present, as well as the passing of time, cannot be overlooked even among the most innocent people in the most idyllic settings. The final stare of both characters into the lenses reveals a mature awareness of the fact.
Original Title: Späternte
Country: Germany
Language: German
Year: 2025
Runtime: 25′
Director, Image & Sound: Katharina Huber
Cast: Charlotte Marsau, Alexandra Huber
Sound Mix: Michał Krajczok
Color Grading: Jesse Mazuch
Music & Piano: Chris Pitsiokos
Additional Piano: Quentin Tolimieri
