Underplayed Gems

Country (1984)

Country poster
Directed by
Richard Pearce
Genre
drama film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 45m
Rated
PG
Rating
6.5 of 10 from 34 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A rural family in 1980s America fights to keep their farm as economic pressures mount. The story focuses on the parents' efforts to protect their land and their way of life.

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What happens

Country is a 1984 American drama film which follows the trials and tribulations of a rural family as they struggle to hold on to their farm during the trying economic times experienced by family farms in 1980s America. The film was written by William D. Wittliff, and stars real-life couple Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard. The film was directed by Richard Pearce, and was shot on location in Dunkerton and Readlyn Iowa, and at Burbank's Walt Disney Studios. Lange, who also co-produced the film, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe award for her role. Then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan stated in his personal diary that this film "was a blatant propaganda message against our agri programs". Some members of the U.S. Congress took the film so seriously that Jessica Lange was brought before a congressional panel to testify as an expert about living on family farms. Country was one of three 1984 films, along with The River and Places in the Heart, that dealt with the perspective of family farm life "struggles." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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