Western 2018

Meinhard Meinhard Neumann is one of a group of German construction workers hired to build a hydroelectric plant in a remote Bulgarian village near the Greek border. With the water supply needed to mix cement interrupted and the promised gravel never arriving, their work grinds to a halt, leaving them with long, sun-drenched days to fill. While cooling off in a nearby river, they spot local women bathing, and the mood becomes tense when a Bulgarian woman loses her sun hat and the German worker who retrieves it refuses to return it, even trying to push her underwater and souring their first interactions.

There are ongoing frictions: locals object to the Germans for allegedly stealing fruit from an orchard while some locals steal the German flag. These small acts of distrust set a climate of rising antagonism as both sides test boundaries and patience.

Meinhard [Meinhard Neumann] discovers a white horse and rides it into the village, trying to talk with the locals, though the language barrier keeps exchanges limited. The horse belongs to a local man, Adrian [Syuleyman Alilov Letifov], who allows him to ride. Through patient, improvised conversation, Meinhard begins to befriend Adrian and his family, slowly cobbling together enough shared moments to feel like an unlikely connection is forming.

Meinhard learns that the lack of water is the result of a rationing system that pits village against village. The locals explain that they cannot part with their water for the Germans without leaving themselves without it, a reality that hardens the position of everyone involved and raises the stakes of any negotiation.

Vincent [Reinhardt Wetrek], the foreman, ultimately takes the white horse and goes to the water well, turning off the water for the locals. In the process, he fatally injures the horse in a fall from a steep incline, a tragedy Meinhard discovers later when he finds the dying animal and makes the painful choice to end its suffering.

During talks over access to the water—potentially tied to efforts to improve the supply—Vincent flirts with Viara [Viara Borisova], who serves as a translator. She rebuffs him, signaling that the relationship between the two communities is far more complicated than a simple negotiation.

That evening, a Bulgarian man who lost money to Meinhard in poker pleads with him to return it, but Meinhard only gives back some of the amount, underscoring how fragile trust remains on both sides.

Back at the camp, Meinhard is attacked by his own German coworkers, but he defends himself and spends the night outdoors, exposed to the elements and the mounting tensions around him.

In the morning, Bulgarian friends pick him up and take him to a village party where the two nationalities mingle more freely. Meinhard is punched by a local man after a brief confrontation over his involvement with Viara. Adrian notes that such conflict is part of village life, a blunt reminder of the boundaries that still separate the two communities.

After the confrontation, Meinhard experiences a moment of hesitation about where he fits in this volatile landscape. Yet as the evening darkens, he makes a decisive choice: he turns around, returns to the party, and joins in the dancing, signaling a tentative step toward reconciliation and shared humanity amid ongoing strain.