''Aurora Borealis'' is a 2005

romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

film directed by James C.E. Burke and starring Joshua Jackson,

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

Juliette Lewis Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress, singer and musician. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark plots, themes and settings. Lewis gained prominence in American cinema during t ...

, and

Louise Fletcher Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of the antagonist Nurse Ratched in the film '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her numero ...

Plot

Duncan is an unemployed youth, trying to cope with the death of his father ten years ago. The film is set in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Duncan's grandparents, Ronald and Ruth move into an apartment with a very nice view. Ron claims that he has seen the Northern Lights ''aka''

Aurora Borealis An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

from the balcony. Ron is fast deteriorating with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Kate is the home assistant of Ron and Ruth. In order to be close to his grandparents, Duncan finds a job as a handyman at the building where they are staying. There he meets Kate and the two quickly fall in love. Meanwhile, Duncan takes care of Ron and helps out Ron in coping with his condition. Duncan does not want to leave the town he grew up in. He is not able to free himself from his fears of the past and his sorrow of his father's death. Ron nudges him to do something with his life. He tells Kate that Duncan needs someone who can push him to action. Kate too suggests that Duncan move on with his life. Kate announces that she has chosen to move to San Diego. This hurts Duncan, but he is still not ready to leave. Ron wants to end his life and misery. He asks Duncan to buy him some shells for his shotgun. In a moment of despair, Duncan loads the shotgun and gives it to Ron, but he is not able to position the gun so that he can pull the trigger with his toe. The gun goes off and Duncan runs inside. Ron follows but has a heart attack and dies. Kate leaves for San Diego and Duncan says his goodbyes. On reaching her new place, she sees Duncan at the doorstep, ready to give his life a fresh start.

Cast

Reception

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, aurora_borealis
''Aurora Borealis''
at the DVD Release Site 2005 films Canadian romantic drama films American films about Alzheimer's disease Canadian films about Alzheimer's disease Films set in Minnesota Films shot in Minnesota 2005 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Films scored by Mychael Danna English-language Canadian films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films Films about disability in the United States English-language romantic drama films