There's always the scenery, no matter what you may think of the film's bizarre melange of surrealism and metaphysics.
Northfork (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:99
Fresh:56
Rotten:43
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: Visually poetic, but may be too dramatically inert for some.
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: "We are all angels. It is what we do with our wings that separates us." In the next two days, the town of Northfork will cease to exist. The year is 1955 and Northfork is literally about... "We are all angels. It is what we do with our wings that separates us." In the next two days, the town of Northfork will cease to exist. The year is 1955 and Northfork is literally about to be "dammed," flooded to make way for a new hydroelectric project. The town's rugged plains are going to drown, its Heartland houses will be swept away and its citizens are heading for higher ground. With the exception of a few stoic resistors. Now a team of six trench-coated men has been charged with removing the last few stragglers before it is too late. As the Evacuation Committee spreads out across Northfork, they encounter a group of people not quite ready or willing to leave. They are each in limbo. Some are looking for a sign. Others are hoping for a miracle. Yet, one way or another, they will all have to say goodbye. Among these tenacious individuals are a lustful young couple, a man who has built an Ark (complete with a pair of wives), and a frail orphan whose fevered visions have led him to believe he's the lost member of an ancient herd of roaming Angels calling him home. Northfork is a beguiling story of loss and resurrection, about adjusting to the strange new places towards which we sometimes find ourselves heading. Blending surreality and history, the film is spun in the manner of an American fairy tale that tackles such themes as land, life, faith, death, the afterlife and the power of dreams with a distinctively playful touch. Northfork is the latest installment from the Polish Brothers, who previously won acclaim for Twin Falls, Idaho and Jackpot, the first two films in a series about America’s Heartland -- and the country's shifting dreams and visions. The film is directed by Michael Polish and written and produced by Mark Polish and Michael Polish. The ensemble cast includes Nick Nolte, Daryl Hannah, James Woods, Anthony Edwards, Claire Forlani, Peter Coyote and Kyle MacLachlan. Paul Mayersohn and James Woods are the executive producers. -- © Paramount Classics [More]
Starring: Nick Nolte, James Woods, Daryl Hannah, Anthony Edwards
Starring: Nick Nolte, James Woods, Daryl Hannah, Anthony Edwards, Kyle MacLachlan, Peter Coyote, Mark Polish, Claire Forlani, Duel Farnes, Robin Sachs, Ben Foster, Michele Hicks, Graham Beckel
Director: Michael Polish
Director: Michael Polish
Screenwriter: Mark Polish, Michael Polish
Producer: Michael Polish, Mark Polish
Composer: Stuart Matthewman
Studio: Paramount Classics
Reviews for Northfork
What little enthusiasm I drummed up for this hyper-precocious indie will be tucked away for December’s Worst of the Year list.
In devoting all of their efforts towards the film's look and feel, co-creators Mark and Michael Polish have crafted a motion picture that is static, occasionally opaque, and, worst of all, boring.
Every second of it was entrancing, and the filmmakers did not waste a second of their relatively brief 103 minute running time.
"Northfork" benefits from reflection, but there is no denying its flaws. The Polish brothers clearly have a vision, but it is rarified and they only succeed in conveying part of it
Northfork feels like the unedited dream sequence from the movie it might have been, if only there'd been someone to wake up from it.
The experience of seeing Northfork is a bit like being inside a dream.
Northfork just about gets us off the ground on its dreamy, feathery angel wings; it just doesn't have the strength or the stamina to keep us aloft.
A beautiful, superbly crafted, constantly surprising film that completely transports you into its peculiar world.
It does look good, I just didn't feel like it had a story that moved me.
A hypnotic masterpiece, it grabs hold and won't let go until you've fallen under its spell.
It has that vintage Polish pace, their signature arch pomposity and rhythmless weirdness, only this time the brothers had to go and make a cosmic allegory of American dreams.
Remarkable love letter to the disappearance of the American frontier.
Latest News for Northfork
August 22, 2005:
Billy Bob to Become an "Astronaut Farmer"
Billy Bob Thornton will star in the Polish Brothers' satire known as "The Astronaut Farmer," says Variety. Mark and Michael Polish penned the screenplay, and... More...
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