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TV tip: A lot of people didn’t like this Western.
Updated June 27, 2026 – 6:00 am.Reading time: 2 min.
Slow West: Starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Michael Fassbender. (Source: IMAGO/CAP/NFS/imago)
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The Western genre is all about wild shootouts and fast chases across endless landscapes. Slow West subverts these expectations.
The title of the film, based on the work of John MacLean, says it all: Slow West eschews dark action and tells its story at a calm pace. While the Scottish director uses some classic Western influences, he mixes them with coming-of-age elements and a critique of consumerism.
That’s what Slow West is about
From Europe to America: Young Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) tries to find his lover Rose (Karen Pistorius) and her father in the land of opportunity. But a journey through impassable and harsh America pushes the young European to the limit. When he meets the mysterious Silas (Michael Fassbender), he offers him his help and protection in exchange for compensation.
Jay doesn’t trust Silas’ kindness, but accepts the offer. He will be lost alone in the unforgiving terrain. It quickly becomes apparent that other people have the same goal and want to track Rose down as quickly as possible. Silas is also pursuing his own plan, in which Jay is merely a means to an end.
Slow West is worth watching
John MacLean’s unusual Western made an impression on international festivals. The film received 21 nominations and seven awards. Among other things, he was awarded by the jury of the Sundance Film Festival and the Sitges Film Festival.
The Rotten Tomatoes ratings portal highlights the enthusiasm for the unusual film. International critics give it 92 percent, and this opinion is supported by 74 percent of viewers. IMDb movie database verdict: 6.9 out of 10 stars.
The movie is on today, on Saturday, June 27, 2026, 8:15 p.m. on Tele5. If you miss the Western, you can also watch it on Rent or Buy Apple TV.
Not a subscriber yet? You can also get the entire package of streaming services from Magenta. WITH Purple TV get Disney+, NetflixRTL+, Apple TV, DaznParamount+ and Wow at a special price in one Those.
More modern, not the Wild West
While the setting between the prairie, the campfire and the horses can certainly be considered a Western, John MacLean also criticizes consumerism. As Spiegel magazine writes in its review of the film, the director shows “America’s brutal capitalist path to success.” Anything that brings in money will move people. Even if it’s a reward.
The magazine also praises the honesty of the script, which leaves little romantic notion of sunsets or enchanting panoramas: “Many European immigrants came to seek their fortune; most of them suffered from bitter poverty and became strange, crazy, criminals. Or they simply died due to bad luck and bullets, which then, as now, were loose in pistols.” At the same time, Maclean reflects problems that continue to be relevant today.
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