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Northern Lights

Play trailer 1:59 Poster for Northern Lights 1978 1h 38m Drama History Play Trailer Watchlist
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Winner of the 1979 Camera d'Or, Northern Lights, a unique work of political cinema from the late 1970s, dramatizes small North Dakotan wheat farmers' political struggle against the bankers and railroad magnates pushing them into bankruptcy. Two young lovers get swept up in the turmoil surrounding the formation of the populist Nonpartisan League in the mid-1910's. Shot on location in black-and-white 16mm with a cast of nonprofessional actors, this deeply moving, politically committed film is a masterpiece of American independent cinema.
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Northern Lights

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 11/06/2018
3/4
The filmmakers, John Hanson and Rob Nilsson, use the documentary springboard of Martinson's memories to move into a film that also looks like a documentary. Go to Full Review
J. R. Jones Chicago Reader 11/14/2013
John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath seems like the obvious inspiration here, in both its proletarian sentiment and its primal arrangement of characters against the harsh landscape. Go to Full Review
Time Out 01/26/2006
The pseudo-documentary tone is maddeningly naive, but the stubborn, passionate images survive Go to Full Review
Michael Talbot-Haynes Film Threat May 28
9/10
There is much to delight in Northern Lights, down here on the farm. You have to wait out the 30-minute fuse, but once the film starts exploding, it doesn’t stop. Go to Full Review
Steve Erickson Arts Fuse 10/07/2024
Hanson and Nilsson film the area’s nature with a hard beauty: even a scene where farmers desperately try to preserve their crops from a blizzard is beautifully shot. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 06/30/2005
3/5
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Audience Reviews

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Stephen C @bob25009 May 21 Based on a true story in 1 hour and 38 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $14,800.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more walter m @Harlequin68 09/25/2013 In the winter of 1915 in North Dakota, Ray Sorensen(Robert Behling) gets engaged to Inga(Susan Lynch). But as John(Joe Spano) puts it, there are more important things to worry about like the low prices and high shipping costs of their grain, along with the banks always threatening to foreclose on their family farms. That's why the Nonpartisan League has been formed, to give the power to the farmers to let them govern themselves. Even after all that, Ray has reservations about hitting the trail for them which are eventually overcome. "Northern Lights" is an endearing and inspiring forgotten piece of American history; one that also goes to show that there is nothing fundamentally un-American about socialism. The black and white cinematography covers the sparse landscape well which matches the minimal dialogue. So, while we are informed as to what happens historically, the same could not be said for the chracters which is not an insignificant fault. In any case, there is Henry Martinson who appears in the prologue and epilogue and was there when these events were going down and at the time of filming, 94 years old and still kicking and doing push-ups. See more 07/27/2012 Música escocesa secuencia tras secuencia, paisajes de la campiña norteamericana que quitan el habla, todo filmado con una bellísima fotografía en blanco y negro, logra el registro de un acontecimiento en apariencia minúsculo e insignificante en Northern Lights (1978), dirigida por John Hanson, Martin Lavut y Rob Nilsson. Este pequeño pero bello trabajo, empieza con un tono documental ligero y agradable, en el que un anciano, Ray Sorensen, quien murió en 1977, poco después de terminada la producción, empieza su narración en off mientras realiza actividades de lo más cotidianas. Nos contará cómo fue, en su juventud, uno de los acontecimientos más importantes en su vida. La formación de la Liga Independiente, complicada y conflictiva por el desánimo y pesimismo de muchos granjeros, trabajosamente pudo lograrse. Toda la película gira casi exclusivamente en torno a la formación de La Liga Independiente, pero las imágenes finales del anciano Sorensen, con su semblante nostálgico, triste, pero haciendo ejercicio en el suelo como alma joven en plena efervescencia, son conmovedoras y ayudan a comprender que el amor hacia su esposa y la formación de la Liga, fueron las dos únicas cosas que dieron sentido a su longeva existencia. Más en http://pantallanueve.blogspot.com See more Read all reviews
Northern Lights

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Movie Info

Synopsis Winner of the 1979 Camera d'Or, Northern Lights, a unique work of political cinema from the late 1970s, dramatizes small North Dakotan wheat farmers' political struggle against the bankers and railroad magnates pushing them into bankruptcy. Two young lovers get swept up in the turmoil surrounding the formation of the populist Nonpartisan League in the mid-1910's. Shot on location in black-and-white 16mm with a cast of nonprofessional actors, this deeply moving, politically committed film is a masterpiece of American independent cinema.
Director
John Hanson, Rob Nilsson
Producer
John Hanson, Rob Nilsson
Screenwriter
John Hanson, Rob Nilsson
Distributor
Cine Manifest
Genre
Drama, History
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 17, 1978, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
May 23, 2025
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 22, 2025
Box Office (Gross USA)
$14.8K
Runtime
1h 38m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.37:1)
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