My goodness, what a great film. I had other things to do today, but after watching the first 15 minutes of this I knew I was hooked. Great, natural performances by all the actors, and although the settings are bleak the photography captures the wide-open beauty of Iowa. (SPOILERS FOLLOW) Two scenes stood out for me - the part where Dad finally breaks and attacks his son and then his wife in a blind rage is truly shocking, then later we get to the auction where the farm is being broken up and sold off. A few small items are sold, but then the crowd come together and make paltry bids on expensive items, eventually uniting in a chant of 'NO SALE!', driving the auctioneers off the land. Also in this scene, we see the grandson bid for his grandpa's old bridle, and when he wins it he quietly hands it over to grandpa. Not a word is spoken in this moment. Moving indeed. There's no ending, happy or otherwise. Instead we see Mum & Dad reconciled and facing the future together. This film demonstrates that you don't need a blockbuster budget to make a superb film, just a good story, a director who doesn't need to hammer a point and good, solid actors.
