Heartland
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Movie Reviews of Heartland
Movie Review: One of the best true-to-life movies ever
Summary: 5 Stars
Low key and undramatic in it's presentation, this is nevertheless riveting. It is a slice of life, in the finest sense of the term. The scene is one year in the life of a small group of people, set in turn of the century Wyoming. The story has, at it's center, two strong-willed individuals - a widow with a young daughter to provide for, and her new employer, a brusk ranch owner in need of a housekeeper.
The harsh realities of this time and place are neither side-stepped, romanticized nor over dramatized, but instead are simply dealt with honestly and matter-of-factly, as do the characters themselves. It is not a comedy, though there are moments of hilarity. It is not a tragedy, despite desperately tragic moments. It is as if a window opened and we are graced with a glimpse of the past.
This honesty is the true heart of the story and is the result of the fact that it is a true story, that of the daughter, whose understated presence in the movie is dealt with as straight-forwardly as all the rest.
I am now on my third copy - 2 worn out VCR tapes later, I now own it on DVD and highly recommend it to anyone with the heart to bear it.
Movie Review: Real Life on Film -- And Still a Great Movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
My grandmother and grandfather homesteaded in Wyoming in 1910, and luckily for me, my grandmother was a wonderful storyteller. We learned about the obligation to feed a cowboy passing through (for next to nothing, no matter how poor your were), about the fact that eating prairie dog was a sign that you were nearly starving. Their nearest neighbors were 7 miles away, so any emergency had to be dealt with on their own.
When this first came to theatres, I went with my family (our grandparents had died by then), and we literally staggered out afterwards. Our grandparents' story had become so real that it was overwhelming.
All this reality, and the fact that the film was partially funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, could give the idea that it was one of those "stuffy, documentary-type" films that tries so hard to re-create history that it lacks drama. There is drama aplenty in "Heartland," and marvelouos acting. The dialogue is sparse: the actors' faces and movements,their actions, the images speak eloquently of hardship, cooperation, trust and beauty.
Movie Review: The Rough Truth of the West
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the most moving experiences in cinema I'd had for years. Superb understated acting. There are elements that are completely lost by several of the other reviewers regarding "Heartland". Victorian Pioneers were a stoic type of people, look up stoicism if need be. They did not wear their emotions on their sleeves as we do today, and whining was nearly unknown. Self reliance was a code of conduct lived each day. One reviewer commented on the lack of "chemistry" between Clyde and Elinor. That is almost a laughable remark- marriages among ranchers even to recent days is often based upon economics and not compatability and romance as such. Clyde and Elinor actually loved one another with a depth that would frighten most moderns, dealing with death, birth, and life- good, bad and indifferent.
One of my favorite lines from the entire film is when Elinor confesses to her female rancher neighbor played by Lila Skala, that she just cannot talk with Clyde. The neighbor replies with all sincerity, "You better learn to before winter sets in."
Movie Review: The way it REALLY was ... and the way it may become again
Summary: 5 Stars
For many of us, our lives are SOOO easy here in the U.S. It wasn't always that way and likely won't be in the future. This excellent movie depicts very realistically and with superb acting how a widowed mother struggled to survive, and in small ways to thrive, in the Old West. It should be shown in schools and colleges all over the country ... in history classes, women's studies classes, and classes addressing climate change, etc. From it, people can learn to appreciate what they have, consume less, and prepare for the future.
I grew up on a farm in North Dakota. I remember when we didn't have electricity, indoor plumbing or a telephone, much less a computer. I watched my grandfather plow his fields with draft horses and my grandmother haul water from the well in buckets. I can affirm the historical accuracy of this movie.
Movie Review: Oh, How I Love This movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this when it first came out on a video I rented. I have been trying to buy the video for several years. I recently bought it used at a video store and I was so ecstatic I was bouncing off the walls. Based on the Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, a book I bought from an Amazon seller. Conchata Ferrell stars as Elinore, a widow with a small daughter who, answering an ad by Scotish bachelor Rip Torn, comes to the frontier to work for him. They fall in love, marry, have a child together. Their trials and tribulations and their love for each other and the land overcome the tragedies that befell them. I highly recommend this movie. Even though I own the video, I am very willing and grateful to pay $27 for this movie.