Very well executed

Lack of good storyline.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

NORTHFORK is above all a masterpiece of widescreen cinematography. For this alone the film is well worth one's time. The stark, wide open plains and badlands of eastern Montana are captured in the spare, muted earth tones of autumn or early spring. The gigantic grey cement Fort Peck Dam is the film's protagonist. The film comments both subtly and not so subtly on about a dozen issues of Western Landscape. The dialogue can be trying at times, yet the images and concepts are powerful enough to lift the film. The 1950's period works so well here and is executed so well. I think that the passing years will be kind to this film.

Judging from the reviews about Northfork the truth about the quality of it seems to lie somewhere between art-house masterpiece and pretentious crap.To suggest that anyone should see this movie would be just as foolish as to say, anyone has to see any specific movie. It is also completely unfair to consider this movie utter crap. (I submit to you to watch a movie by Albert Pyun and then have another look at Northfork).It is certainly not an easy sell. The layers, or threads, of the various stories are not fully tide up, but it appears that was never the intention. The film, like the old daguerotype pictures shown at the beginning of the movie, represents the lost and maybe even forgotten spirit of the American Frontier. A rather ambivalent story of course, given the fact that it coincided with the genocide of an entire people. And yet, this spirit of the frontier is something that lies at the very core of the American Dream, this mythical belief, that to this day seems to drive those former colonies forward.But I'm getting sidetracked. Yes, aside from the wonderful visual craft, the beautiful score, the acting, which I felt to be very in tune, this film contains elements from movies made by filmmakers that were mentioned by other users in their reviews. (see Cocteau, Godard, Burton, Lynch etc.). But my guess is, and whoever reads this, it's really just a guess, Michael and Mark Polish weren't interested in copying any one of those marvelous directors, but saw that beneath what developed into the USA, lay stories of people who were now forgotten, who were swept away by the tides of time and progress. There was a clash of values and (in the case of Northfork) literally power. Where there was a farming community there is now a neon-highlighted shopping mall, and where there were people there are now only ghosts of ideals past.Which turns this motion picture into a smashing fairytale, a wonderful ghost story in the best sense of the word. An array of images and moods, and maybe even more substance that one might think. But then, that is another matter, and is truly to be judged individually.

i happen to be surfing through on a Sunday morning and got in just as the movie was starting. it grabbed me immediately, it was one of those scenes where the mountains of Montana background let you know right away this is not a "ninja, action feature" movie we have been inundated with over the last 3 years.The back & forth between the groups was engaging and kept my mind focused. the little clues/hints also kept me on edge. all of the actors played their roles really well. all were believable. all were giving to their roles. from the farmer that nailed himself to his front porch, to Irwin, to nolte the priest, i really respected the acting.yet, the movie never came together? there were too many loose ends left lying on the floor. i appreciate a movie that keeps the audience thinking and probing, but isn't it the writer & directors role to give their audience some closure? were the polish brothers trying to do a 2001 on us? if so, even 2001 gave us much more closure at the end than this film.i will look forward to their next film. they are on the right track. this was a movie we need more of. i am sick & tired of boobs & bombs and hyped up acting presented as a blockbuster. northfork is a good effort and i agree with others, how was this movie left off the cinematography list of the year's best?

Michael Polish's hypnotic "Northfork" is a film that will stay in one's memory for quite a long time. This exquisitely crafted movie that Michael and Mark Polish wrote, is visually one of the best things that came out last year from the world of independent films. The movie is splendidly photographed by M. David Mullen, with a haunting score by Stuart Matthewman.If you haven't seen the film, perhaps you should stop reading here.The idea to set the film in Montana was a great coup for the Polish brothers. Never has the majestic views of the country and mountains been so vividly captured as in "Northfork". We don't need any color! The beauty is in the dark tones of the film that enhances the story of the desolation in this remote outpost.At the center of the story is Irwin, the sick child under the care of the mysterious Father Harlan. This boy is seen in his bed where the kind priest is administering the medicine for his body. But is he really there at all? We watch him interacting with the odd group that we first encounter around the cemetery. There are two freshly open graves. Will one of them be for Irwin? At the same time, another plot line plays parallel to this first theme. We see the six men in black that have come to the area in order to remove from the area as many people as they can. This will be the bed for the man made lake that will be created. Their reward is one acre and a half of lake front property if they move a certain amount of people.The third story line centers on the mystical group composed by Flower Hercules, Cup of Tea, Cod and Happy. They are following a possibility of a link to an angel that has been injured in this area. When Irwin meets them at the cemetery, he offers to help, only if they take him away at least a thousand miles from here. We watch as the quartet examine the feathers the boy has placed among the pages of his bible. Could Irwin be that angel? The closing sequence show us all parties leaving Northfork in different directions. The men in black riding their automobiles, perhaps going home to enjoy the newly acquired properties given to them as a reward. The mystical group is seen boarding a plane and taking off for a higher place. We also realize that the child in Father Harlan, in spite of the medicines and the care he received from the saintly figure, has died.Michael Polish got one of the best ensemble acting from all the principals. Nick Nolte, as Father Harlan turns a low key performance in his portrayal of this kind man. James Woods, as Walter, one of the men working for the developer, does a fine job. The biggest surprise is Duel Farmer, who makes an excellent impression as Irwin. This child actor, with the right guidance, shows great promise.The mystical group is brilliantly acted by Daryl Hannah, Robin Sachs, Ben Foster and Anthony Edwards, the man with the funny spectacles. Peter Coyote, Mark Polish, Ben Foster, and the rest of the cast are flawless under Mr. Polish direction.The beauty of the film relies in its simplicity. Mr. Polish's vision will haunt one's memory. The images of Montana, as perhaps an unreal landscape is one of the best things in American films in quite a while.