Film

Heartland Mystery

Northfork Shows Beauty, Inspires Argument

by Bradley Steinbacher

Opens Fri July 25 at the Uptown.

There is something wonderful happening in Northfork, something not easily pigeonholed. The story: In the early 1950s, the small heartland community of Northfork is about to disappear, a casualty of a newly constructed hydroelectric dam. In an attempt to move every resident out, an evacuation committee (made up of trenchcoated, fedora-capped men) has been assembled. These men make their way through the eerie and near-empty area, trying to coax a few remaining families out. Meanwhile, a sickly orphan, confined to bed and afflicted with feverish dreams, lies under the care of a local pastor (Nick Nolte). The habitants of the boy's dreams: a pack of angels who may or may not be searching for him.

Filmed with little more than a gray palette, Northfork, which concludes brothers Michael and Mark Polish's trilogy (the film's siblings: Twin Falls Idaho and Jackpot), is a challenging picture--an exercise in magical realism, and an exploration of and rumination on death. While it is not entirely successful, there is enough mystery in the film to make it a worthwhile experience. Confusing, beautiful, and occasionally sad, it does what all the best films do: inspires argument.