Northfolk - Booth

The film Northfolk takes place in the 1940’s. The film maker controls the power of images within the film. There is a set of about 10 men who are hired to move people out of the town so that they can build the dam. For completing the list and moving 65 family homes out of Northfolk the men are paid 1.5 acres and 1/3 of an acre per extra house cleared after 65. The last boy, Irwin, left in the town is an orphan and nobody wants him because he is really sick. Irwin has dreams and images that he has met the angels and that the angles are looking for the lost angel is unique and Irwin thinks that he is the lost angel. Irwin claims he is the lost angel so that he can go home. The graveyard is going to be flooded and everyone who has a relative or loved one in the graveyard have been given notices to move the grave. One of the men is reluctant to move his deceased wife. There are lots of houses already on building blocks. The church that the father preaches at has an open back to it so that nature is exposed to the participants. This landscape is very important in Montana. A symbol in the film was that all the men who had to clear homes had a white feather in their hat and they also all had white wings in their trunks. The church had an opening in the back, had been raised up, moved, and the removal of the back of the church connected it to nature. The church on stilts represents impermanent just like the nick on the son’s car. This translates to the idea of holding on to something that will last but does not last. This alternates to give you something better. The images of angels seen in the film would be the hand holding flowers, airplane that keeps flying above, the Hercules book and the cup of tea. Another image I remember was when the father and son went to the last house on the list and it was split in the middle and they could see the snow falling in between the two dwellings. After this the father then decides to finally move his wife’s grave to a new location. The father digs up the grave and is not afraid anymore. He then tries to mask the smell of her corpse. The man with 2 wives has 2 of everything and his idea of religion is trophies so that he can show off his accomplishments. Overall the film was a great representation of how sometimes it takes something significant to happen in order for us to do something that needs to be done.