O Pioneers!

I was expecting a better movie. It just wasn't that touching, and the story was not entertaining. And the scenery wasn't that great. Heather Graham uses a horrible accent. I guess the plot of this film was a young Alexandra takes over her family's land when their dad dies. She tells her brothers they will stick together and the farm will grow. Cut to 20 years later, and we saw how the farm has grown. They grow a lot and have a big house. A subplot involves the younger brother, Emil, who falls for a married woman. Tragedy ensues, surprise, surprise! The end of the film deals with Alexandra getting together with an old friend. So, she has a life other than the farm. Sounds really exciting, uh? Not!

FINAL VERDICT: I don't recommend this because it is too boring.

Scandinavians are, as a rule, stoic -- I think the previous viewer missed that dynamic. That, and for a woman to have achieved success during the time this woman did was quite an accomplishment. I guess we just want more drama or shoot-em-up in our films these days, but having run a farm and done so well seems a task that eludes many in our modern world.

Whoever didn't like this film most likely was sorely out of touch with the culture at the time it was set, as well as that of the ethnic group. Jessica's character reminds me very much of someone in my own family, and her accomplishments, against often insurmountable odds, is nothing short of spectacular.

Sorry it's not exciting enough for some. The real world is not made up of alien invasions and ghetto trauma. It's a feel-good film of a culture that worked hard and succeeded. I, for one, appreciate it.

Awesome story of how a woman takes over the ranch aft her father dies. Looking at it from a genealogical viewpoint of a genealogist's....I am so glad they made this excellent film. Stories such as this came from our ancestors for sure as such ocurrences actually did happen very often. Women were left to run many outfits when the men died or went wandering....they had the gusto, fortitude and fight to do it, thats why we are here today, because of these courageous ancestors. Nebraska is a gorgeous state and the scenery is truly depictive of it as I lived there. The culmination of the two childhood friends marrying, even though she was 4yrs his senior...happened all too often back in those days. Its a very emotional, heart beating film and well done. Jessica Lange is such a wonderful actress and did an excellent job in this film as did David Strathairn.

Jessica Lange went from the big screen to the small screen with her performance here. She is just excellent here as she is anywhere else including stage as well. Jessica Lange played the elder Alexandra Bergstrom. A young Heather Graham played the young Alexandra. She did an excellent job. Anne Heche had left "Another World" for other opportunities. This film highlighted her talent as an actress. David Straitharn played the elder Carl Lindstrom, the love of Alexandra's live. The film is kind of slow at times. The film was made for television. The ending of the film was a surprise since I haven't read the novel.

I was looking at some other reviews of this and felt pressed to say, it rally was pretty good. Criticisms that it was predictable are a bit unfounded when you remember that this was based on Willa Cather's novel.She wrote it first. I enjoyed the production. It talked about how people make decisions that have consequences beyond their expectations. The affair between Marie and Emil is more about Marie's decision to marry who and when she did. These things could happen today. Still, the slice of life in for American settlers is what has always drawn me to Willa Cather's works. I think Hallmark's depiction is quite solid. Jessica Lange was a good choice for the lead. Her story could have been that of so many others. Nowadays we forget that this country was settled by people faced with different choices and harder lives than we face today.