The movie is rich with pathos, grace and absurdist humor, but it takes a couple of viewings to get a firm handle on what the hell is going on.
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.
Theatrical Release:Jul 11, 2003 Limited
Box Office: $1,278,868
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
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Reviews for Northfork
It's a tone poem of a movie, more visual than coherent. As such, what it's about is less important than the spell it casts.
What [the Polish brothers] got here is a lot of quirky ideas piled up neatly next to one another and trying, sometimes too desperately, to harmonize and mean something big. They don't, but there's real fascination in watching them try.
An insufferably artsy, pretentious work, the sort of picture that gives art films a bad name.
It is impossible to describe all the rich layers of Northfork, clearly an exhausting labor of love for the Polish brothers who wrote, produced, directed and star in the mystical movie.
A story so tender, so achingly sweet, you'll forgive the rest of the film its amorphousness.
Northfork has a fascinating combination of desolation and fantasy, both visually and emotionally.
You'll embrace Northfork — or you'll wish they'd flood the town sooner. What you won't deny is that you've seen something unique.
Northfork isn't a great picture, but it restores to independent movies a tradition of extravagant weirdness that's been missing since David Lynch went uptown.
Though the Polish brothers are saying good-bye to the heartland with the conclusion of Northfork, you may feel as if you've beat them out of town.
Beautiful images, fabulous cast, and eclectic characters you give a dam about transform this bizarre story into a fairy tale worth watching.
A love letter to the state of Montana and a landscape that is biblical in its desolation and splendor.
A powerful, surreal fable, one that requires a small amount of patience from the viewer in exchange for a moving experience.
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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