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.
