''Country'' is a 1984 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

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 United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The film was written by

William D. Wittliff William Dale Wittliff (January 21, 1940 – June 9, 2019), sometimes credited as Bill Wittliff, was an American screenwriter, author, and photographer who wrote the screenplays for '' The Perfect Storm'' (2000), ''Barbarosa'' (1982), ''Raggedy Ma ...

, and stars real-life couple

Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. She is the 13th actress to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, having won two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, along with a Screen Actors ...

and

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

. The film was directed by Richard Pearce, and was shot on location in Dunkerton and Readlyn

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, and at Burbank's Walt Disney Studios. Lange, who also co-produced the film, was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

and a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

award for her role. Then-U.S. president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

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 ''Places in the Heart'' is a 1984 American film written and directed by Robert Benton. It stars Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, Ray Baker, Amy Madigan, John Malkovich, Danny Glover, Jerry Haynes and Terry O'Quinn. The film's narrative ...

'', that dealt with the perspective of family farm life "struggles."

Plot

Gilbert "Gil" Ivy (

) and his wife Jewell (

) have worked Jewell's family farm for years, and her father Otis (

Wilford Brimley Anthony Wilford Brimley (September 27, 1934 – August 1, 2020) was an American actor. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and working odd jobs in the 1950s, Brimley started working as an extra and stuntman in Western films in the l ...

) does not want to see his family farm lost to

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mort ...

. However, low crop prices, interest on FHA loans, pressure by the FHA to reduce both the loan and operating expenditure, and a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...

all put pressure on the struggling family as they face hardship and the prospect of losing their home and livelihood.

Cast

as Jewell Ivy *

as Gilbert "Gil" Ivy *

as Otis *

Matt Clark Matthew Clark is a United Kingdom-based drinks distributor. Matthew or Matt Clark may also refer to: *Mat Clark (born 1990), Canadian ice hockey defenceman *Matt Clark (actor) (born 1936), American actor and director *Matt Clark (baseball) (born 19 ...

as Tom McMullen *Therese Graham as Marlene Ivy *Levi L. Knebel as Carlisle Ivy *Jim Haynie as Arlon Brewer *

Sandra Seacat Sandra Diane Seacat (born October 2, 1936) is an American actress, director and acting coach best known for her innovations in acting pedagogy—blending elements of Strasberg, and Jungian dream analysis

as Louise Brewer *Alex Harvey as Fordyce *Stephanie Stacie-Poyner as Missy Ivy

References

External links

* * * 1984 films Touchstone Pictures films Films directed by Richard Pearce 1984 drama films American drama films Films about agriculture Films set in farms 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-drama-film-stub