Nordlicht in Dakota

Yes, this is a fantastic film, an excellent piece of historical narrative (by the way, it is set in the early 20th century, not 19th as chadport put it). I saw it when it first came out and I've been looking for this ever since I got a DVD player but to no avail. This is a forgotten piece of history about what amounted to a popular take-over of government in the northern plains. This movie explains, for example, why North (or maybe it's South) Dakota is the only state with a state bank, and the Democratic Party in Minnesota is the Democratic-Farm-Labor Party. If ever there was a time when European-style social democratic ideas were put in practice in America, this was it. Another way of putting it: if we wonder what would happen if government were truly controlled by the people, this movie shows it well. There are lots of reasons why powerful people would not want this to be a popular movie -- which is precisely why it needs to be in wide distribution!

A dramamentary of the forming of the Non-Partisan League in North Dakota -- this stark, loving film portrays the struggle of the local NoDaks versus the railroads, banks and granaries controlled by distant Minnesotans. This is a classic that reaches toward the level of "Salt of the Earth."

I saw Northern Lights years ago on VHS. I was extremely pleased with its gritty reality, sensitivity to Norwegian immigrants, and awareness that something very important happened in the frigid north lands in the early 20th Century. There is a certain realistic world view among North Dakotans. Add to that a sense that people can work together to survive. Since the film is not available, I'm forgetting the look of the photography. But do remember how striking the black, white and gray seemed. It suited my memory of childhood farm life on the plains. I have looked for a DVD source of this movie for a long time, and am glad a friend recommended IMDb.com to me as a way to find someone who knew about it. It is unknown to most people whom I ask about it. As a North Dakota native, I want this work released on DVD.

My wife and I saw _Northern Lights_ on its release in a movie theater in the ante-VHS/DVD/Web era, and both share the view that this is a great film. It brings to mind Howard Zinn's _People's History of the United States_ in that it immerses us in an authentic American narrative that has generally not appeared in the mainstream, either historical or cinematic. It's over thirty years since I've seen it, so I can only report the memory of my feelings, and I recall being stirred and drawn in, emotionally engaged, feeling that this movie was a real work of art. It came up recently when we were discussing a visiting friend's ancestry. I'm bummed that it's apparently unavailable? On Amazon, the VHS tape is selling for a low of $74 and a high of $132.09. Doesn't this price suggest that there's a market for this film out there, so WOULDN'T IT MAKE BUSINESS SENSE to put it out on DVD? If anyone reading this knows how this works, maybe they could pursue it. Yoo-hoo, Criterion Collection?

Northern Lights (1978) was written and directed by John Hanson and Rob Nilsson. The setting is rural North Dakota about a century ago.

The film stars Robert Behling as Ray Sorensen, a young farmer who works on his father's farm with his brother John, portrayed by Joe Spano. Susan Lynch plays the woman Ray loves, Inga Olsness. The rest of the cast are non-professionals. They're local people in North Dakota.

This is a powerful film about the hardships of crushing poverty, despite the strong work ethic of the farmers. Big business interests and conservative politicians conspired to bring the farmers into debt, which ultimately lead to the foreclosure of their farms.

As the movie progressives, we follow Ray Sorensen as he recognizes the injustices around him, and becomes an organizer for the liberal Nonpartisan League (NPL). In the early 20th Century, many NPL candidates were elected to government offices. The party enacted its progressive programs, including establishing state-owned banks, mills, and a railroad.

The film was amazingly effective in making us feel--not just see--the cold weather and the terrible predicament in which good people found themselves.

The absolutely brilliant b/w cinematography was the work of Judy Irola. Almost every frame could be enlarged into a great still photo.

If you can't see this film, you obviously can't appreciate it, and that's the problem. We found an unused VHS, which hadn't deteriorated too badly.

Previous reviewers have lamented the lack of this movie in DVD. No copies are available in DVD or VHS on Amazon or eBay. Some colleges own copies, so maybe you could get the film via interlibrary loan.

Northern Lights has an anemic 7.0 IMDb rating. I'm not sure why it's so low. It's much better than that.

This is a great movie. It would surely work better on a large screen, but it worked well enough for us on VHS. If you can find it, see it!