Country - Les moissons de la colère

A good farm film should be as grimy as the main characters' fingernails after a day in the field and that's exactly what "Country" is. I was impressed by the tenderness of the acting and the unvarnished nature of the writing. This is one of those kitchen-sink dramas where voices are hardly raised and tears fall silently, without a scene being made by the character who is letting them go.

Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard are two of the finest actors of their generation and they prove it further here. Lange produces some moments of genuine strength that will inspire you and real vulnerability that will move you, all without ever taking it over the top. The whole feeling of this film is even and sure handed, even though it deals with some heavy subject matter like toxic pride and unethical lending practices.

Wilford Brimley also turns in one hell of a performance here as Lange's father. His mannerisms are so real and his powerful eyes just make his presence magnetic in every scene he's in.

"Country" is a must see for fans of movies that tell a great story without flare or easy answers.

Thematically comparable to "The Grapes Of Wrath", "Country" pits a modern Iowa farm family against an imperial American government, via oppressive FHA agency bureaucrats, who intend to execute farm foreclosures on rural residents who can't pay back their loans.

The plot focuses on details of the family's everyday life, and the grief the FHA causes. Characters spend a lot of time at the dinner table talking and eating. Outdoor shots feature a typical Midwest farm setting. Absence of background music in some segments, detailed production design, and ambient sound effects all combine to convey a heightened sense of realism. Overall acting trends well above average. Jessica Lange is quite good as the mother who holds the family together and takes action against the FHA.

On the other hand, the setting and the characters tend to be stereotypical and shallow, except perhaps for the father.

Good editing keeps the plot moving. Even so, I don't think this film would fly today. It's too quiet, too introspective, too slow for modern, especially urban, viewers. Which is unfortunate, because the film speaks to ordinary people regardless of whether they live in cities or on farms.

Politically, I'm afraid that not a lot has changed in America since this film was released in 1984. Imperial institutions still oppress and tyrannize. And films like "Country", "The Grapes Of Wrath", and others, effectively document this tragic historical reality.

Country was filmed in Dunkerton, IA. My grandpa owned the farm before and after the movie was made. There was a L shaped 120 acres around it. My dad's 1977 F-150 pickup was even in the scene when Gill goes to the FMHA office. We have a lot of news articles that people gave to us and what my grandma collected during that time. The movie was made long before I was born, but it's interesting to hear stories from my dad and my grandma. We have a video of my dad and grandpa burning down the house in the Spring of 1989. I live just a mile and a half from where the site is. All that is there is just the well from the house. Went up there and a took a brick that was laying on top with a pile of rocks.(probably from the barn)Its a great movie for todays generation to show how horrible these times were in the 1980s, that is wasn't all fun. A lot of farmers dissapered in these yrs......

A sobering look at farms in crisis. Shows how farmers tried to hide herds from government lenders, the human cost of financial strain, the hopelessness shown by families who have reached the end of their financial rope. Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange anchor a strong and capable cast that effectively portrays the plight of U.S. farmers in the mid-1980s. Cinematography well done, with Kansas and Nebraska location shooting. Auction scene is heart-wrenching, as a farm held by generations of one family is auctioned to satisfy debtors. To watch the bidders converge on the equipment lined up for sale is a powerful image, repeated many times throughout the Plains states during that period.

Like "The Grapes of Wrath" before it, Richard Pearce's "Country" is about poverty-stricken farmers up against the banks and the kind of weather that could wipe them out in an instant. It may lack the poetry of Ford's masterpiece but Pearce gives it a wonderful documentary-like feeling helped by terrifically naturalistic performances from Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard. Its dramas don't feel manufactured, just as the family at its centre feel like a proper family, despite the obvious star quality of its leads. It is, in fact, the kind of film Americans do better than almost anyone else when they set their minds to it; strong, honest and intelligent and it seldom puts a foot wrong. I'm just amazed Pearce's career never really went anywhere.