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 North Country 

What grade would you give this film?
A 6%  6%  [ 1 ]
B 63%  63%  [ 10 ]
C 13%  13%  [ 2 ]
D 6%  6%  [ 1 ]
F 13%  13%  [ 2 ]
Total votes : 16

 North Country 
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Sbil

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North Country is a 2005 American drama film directed by Niki Caro. The screenplay by Michael Seitzman was inspired by the 2002 book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler, which chronicled the case of Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Company.


Last edited by Libs on Wed Nov 02, 2005 8:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.



Thu Oct 20, 2005 6:04 pm
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North Country is a rousing, inspiring story in the tradition of Erin Brockovich, Silkwood and Norma Rae. The story of the fictional Josey Aimes presented here is loosely based on the first class action sexual harassment suit ever, which only occurred in 1989, 16 years ago. North Country is quietly compelling for most of its running time but starts to fizzle out by the end. Fortunately, the movie is not overlong enough that it is really noticeable. Charlize Theron shapes Josey into a three-dimensional woman who almost anyone who has faced adversity or been harassed in some form can identify with. Supporting performances, from Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sean Bean (though he has trouble with a Minnesota accent), Sissy Spacek and Michelle Monaghan are all solid. The real standout of the supporting cast is underrated character actor Richard Jenkins playing Josey's father, who finds himself emotionally caught in the middle of the battle between Josey and the mine. Director Niki Caro of Whale Rider has not suffered through a sophomore slump typical of many second-time filmmakers. North Country is not a perfect film, but it is well-worth seeing. B+


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Libs wrote:
North Country is a rousing, inspiring story in the tradition of Erin Brockovich, Silkwood and Norma Rae. The story of the fictional Josey Aimes presented here is loosely based on the first class action sexual harassment suit ever, which only occurred in 1989, 16 years ago. North Country is quietly compelling for most of its running time but starts to fizzle out by the end. Fortunately, the movie is not overlong enough that it is really noticeable. Charlize Theron shapes Josey into a three-dimensional woman who almost anyone who has faced adversity or been harassed in some form can identify with. Supporting performances, from Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sean Bean (though he has trouble with a Minnesota accent), Sissy Spacek and Michelle Monaghan are all solid. The real standout of the supporting cast is underrated character actor Richard Jenkins playing Josey's father, who finds himself emotionally caught in the middle of the battle between Josey and the mine. Director Niki Caro of Whale Rider has not suffered through a sophomore slump typical of many second-time filmmakers. North Country is not a perfect film, but it is well-worth seeing. B+


any award nomination possibilites including acting / any others.


Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:46 am
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Seeing this in about an hour!


Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:47 am
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North Country is a well acted and well paced dramtic telling of sexual harrassment in the workplace, featuring strong work by Charlize Theron, who will probably get an Oscar nom, and Frances McDormand, who is the most tragic character in the piece, as she's decimated by ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) as the movie progresses.

I only had two problems with the film. The first was relatively minor, as I thought it was stupid that Joesy had heard of Lou Gehrig, but didn't know there was a disease named after him. That really made her come off like she was dumb...

The second problem that I had, was that it played the men at the mine as pigs in a far too over the top way. Unless it's in a prison where the guys are so sex starved in the first place, and really have nothing to lose, large groups of family men and contributers to society do not get together and act like a bunch of barbaric cavemen. I could understand if it was a group, but THE WHOLE COMPANY? Give me a freakin' break with the man hate stuff, Ms. Caro. You could have gotten the point across in a much more subtle manner than that. :nono:

Other than that, I enjoyed it. There was a couple that decided they were going to carry on a conversation during the movie, as they were both providing commentary to eachother. If it wasn't for them being in their 50's, I would have not waited 45 minutes until I loudly said "I hope the movie isn't interrupting your conversation", and they shut up after that. I don't have a great deal of patience for inconsiderate people like that.

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Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:17 pm
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Okay, so it is a man-hate film, indeed, eh? hehe

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Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:22 pm
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Dr. Lecter wrote:
Okay, so it is a man-hate film, indeed, eh? hehe


I don't think a woman would feel that way, but a lot of guys might. It treats the gender as if there are only a few worth anything, and the rest are disgusting pigs without a shred of decency.


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Maverikk wrote:
Dr. Lecter wrote:
Okay, so it is a man-hate film, indeed, eh? hehe


I don't think a woman would feel that way, but a lot of guys might. It treats the gender as if there are only a few worth anything, and the rest are disgusting pigs without a shred of decency.


Hello! First post, don't mind the newbie :oops:

I saw North Country Friday night, and I'd like to add my two cents on the film- especially about sexism. The men of the company we're not all worthless, at least not in my eyes. I noticed multiple men stand up at the trail to testify and several during the union meeting that seem particularly disgusting with the action of the men around them. Actually, I think it was only a few of the men that were truly filth; Bobby Sharp, while quick to condemn Josey, was indeed a soft, emotional man that merely acted macho like the rest in order to "fit in" with the accepted norm at the mine. There seemed to be several like Bobby that were so eager to spit out foul words, perhaps out of self consciousness. They were just trying to fit in with those nasty men, too. They had to get along with those men- you don't shit where you eat, as Kyle said. Josey's father, Hank, was one of those men, and it wasn't until his wife left him that he was able to see the foolishness of the machismo mentality the coal miners have. Furthermore, key players like Kyle and Bill were perfectly accepting of women. So, no, I don't think Caro was being sexist towards men. In fact, I think it was perfect commentary on men in general. As a man, I can say I've noticed a tendency for some to act inappropriately in order to meet their friend's expectations. Caro is portraying a male truism, not sexism.

As a whole, I thought the film was superbly acted- especially by Francis McDormand and Charlize Theron. Sure, Sean Bean struggled with the Minnesota accent, but that doesn't change my consensus that his performance was great. Unfortunately, he'll be passed up for Oscar this time around, too.

Much like Crash, I found this flick a bit too superficial at times- there are cliches in the story. The pacing lags at times, and feels as if it's running out of gas. That isn't to say there aren't Oscar-caliber moments- particularly the revisiting of the rape scene through the courtroom and the patio talk that coincided with it. In between those Oscar moments, however, there just wasn't enough substance. North Country is a fine effort, with moving performances and a fairly strong story to tell, but something is missing- not quite the classic it could have been. Even though it wasn't perfect, I found North Country to be much better than the advertisements led me to believe, and I was certainly not disappointed with what director Niki Caro, the actors, and the writers came up with. I give North Country a strong B+.


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lennier wrote:

Hello! First post, don't mind the newbie :oops:

I saw North Country Friday night, and I'd like to add my two cents on the film- especially about sexism. The men of the company we're not all worthless, at least not in my eyes. I noticed multiple men stand up at the trail to testify and several during the union meeting that seem particularly disgusting with the action of the men around them. Actually, I think it was only a few of the men that were truly filth; Bobby Sharp, while quick to condemn Josey, was indeed a soft, emotional man that merely acted macho like the rest in order to "fit in" with the accepted norm at the mine. There seemed to be several like Bobby that were so eager to spit out foul words, perhaps out of self consciousness. They were just trying to fit in with those nasty men, too. They had to get along with those men- you don't shit where you eat, as Kyle said. Josey's father, Hank, was one of those men, and it wasn't until his wife left him that he was able to see the foolishness of the machismo mentality the coal miners have. Furthermore, key players like Kyle and Bill were perfectly accepting of women. So, no, I don't think Caro was being sexist towards men. In fact, I think it was perfect commentary on men in general. As a man, I can say I've noticed a tendency for some to act inappropriately in order to meet their friend's expectations. Caro is portraying a male truism, not sexism.


Welcome, lennier!

I definitely disagree with you. It shouldn't have taken a half dead woman who couldn't talk or stand up to be the first one to "stand up" for Josey, so all the men that followed (only after all the women stood up) does not qualify as decent to me. They were shown to be pigs, and none of them ever got in the faces of the guys who wrote crude and disrespectful graffiti on the walls and machinery, etc..., and none of them said a word about them tipping over the portable bathroom with a female co-worker in it, causing shit and shitty water to go all over her. Instead, they alll (note the word all) sat in their little meeting with the same attitudes, and nobody stood up and said "shut the hell up" until Josey's father finally did, and even he allowed his daughter to endure that stuff for months without saying a word. No father would have put up with such a thing.

It painted most men as sexual predators and disrespectful to the female gender, and like I said, unless you're talking about a group of sex starved prisoners with nothing to lose, large groups (from mine workers to company execs) do not act that over the top with their treatment of women.


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Maverikk wrote:
lennier wrote:

Hello! First post, don't mind the newbie :oops:

I saw North Country Friday night, and I'd like to add my two cents on the film- especially about sexism. The men of the company we're not all worthless, at least not in my eyes. I noticed multiple men stand up at the trail to testify and several during the union meeting that seem particularly disgusting with the action of the men around them. Actually, I think it was only a few of the men that were truly filth; Bobby Sharp, while quick to condemn Josey, was indeed a soft, emotional man that merely acted macho like the rest in order to "fit in" with the accepted norm at the mine. There seemed to be several like Bobby that were so eager to spit out foul words, perhaps out of self consciousness. They were just trying to fit in with those nasty men, too. They had to get along with those men- you don't shit where you eat, as Kyle said. Josey's father, Hank, was one of those men, and it wasn't until his wife left him that he was able to see the foolishness of the machismo mentality the coal miners have. Furthermore, key players like Kyle and Bill were perfectly accepting of women. So, no, I don't think Caro was being sexist towards men. In fact, I think it was perfect commentary on men in general. As a man, I can say I've noticed a tendency for some to act inappropriately in order to meet their friend's expectations. Caro is portraying a male truism, not sexism.


Welcome, lennier!

I definitely disagree with you. It shouldn't have taken a half dead woman who couldn't talk or stand up to be the first one to "stand up" for Josey, so all the men that followed (only after all the women stood up) does not qualify as decent to me. They were shown to be pigs, and none of them ever got in the faces of the guys who wrote crude and disrespectful graffiti on the walls and machinery, etc..., and none of them said a word about them tipping over the portable bathroom with a female co-worker in it, causing shit and shitty water to go all over her. Instead, they alll (note the word all) sat in their little meeting with the same attitudes, and nobody stood up and said "shut the hell up" until Josey's father finally did, and even he allowed his daughter to endure that stuff for months without saying a word. No father would have put up with such a thing.

It painted most men as sexual predators and disrespectful to the female gender, and like I said, unless you're talking about a group of sex starved prisoners with nothing to lose, large groups (from mine workers to company execs) do not act that over the top with their treatment of women.


Thanks for the kind greeting.

What made the characterization of the minors so perfect was their silence! Remember that shaved man whom Josey turned to frequently in the movie? She asked him for help after her assault, and he expressed discontent during the union meeting. It was in his performance and at least half a dozen others (I admit, a rather small number out of dozens of loud men), while silent, perfectly captured their conflicting feelings towards their predicament- do they stand for women and risk loosing their job, or keep quiet and take the paycheck? Furthermore, we have to consider the environment and period this took place in. 1989 wasn't long ago to us, sitting her looking back. But back then, in the North Country, sexism was certainly commonly excepted in the workplace. While a slight exaggeration, I certainly believe men would be uncomfortable with having women "taking their jobs" in what was an economic slump. Their hostility, I'm guessing, was out of fear of change and was only towards women in the mine. As Josey's father pointed out, they never treated women in such a way at company picnics, etc. Why? That was out of the workplace, where they respected a woman's place. Someone else should have stood up during that meeting, and I'm sure a few men wanted to. But they didn't- and I can't say I don't blame them, all things considered


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lennier wrote:
Thanks for the kind greeting.

What made the characterization of the minors so perfect was their silence! Remember that shaved man whom Josey turned to frequently in the movie? She asked him for help after her assault, and he expressed discontent during the union meeting. It was in his performance and at least half a dozen others (I admit, a rather small number out of dozens of loud men), while silent, perfectly captured their conflicting feelings towards their predicament- do they stand for women and risk loosing their job, or keep quiet and take the paycheck? Furthermore, we have to consider the environment and period this took place in. 1989 wasn't long ago to us, sitting her looking back. But back then, in the North Country, sexism was certainly commonly excepted in the workplace. While a slight exaggeration, I certainly believe men would be uncomfortable with having women "taking their jobs" in what was an economic slump. Their hostility, I'm guessing, was out of fear of change and was only towards women in the mine. As Josey's father pointed out, they never treated women in such a way at company picnics, etc. Why? That was out of the workplace, where they respected a woman's place. Someone else should have stood up during that meeting, and I'm sure a few men wanted to. But they didn't- and I can't say I don't blame them, all things considered


I don't know how it was in Minnesota, but I find it hard to believe that it's different than it was in Ohio, and I was a full time workforce member in 1989, and I never saw anything like that, and if I would have, not only would I (at 20 years old) have told the violator(s) to shut up, but the decent guys I worked with would have, too. In fact, I don't know of any stories from my grandmother, who worked full time, or any female aquaintances that I had at that time who worked in male dominated workplaces, where that kind of display was ever shown. Even back in high school, the guys didn't go around acting like pigs in large groups just because of raging hormones. Maybe small groups, but never the majority, or in North Country's case, the overwhelming majority. It was just a completely unrealistic display to get her point across that there was sexual harrassment front and center, from top to bottom, and in the real world, it wouldn't have been in such an over the top fashion as Niki Caro displayed.

The first time she meets her boss he tells her in front of the other girls that the doctor who gave her her exam told him she looks good underneath those clothes? Just one of the many examples of the over the top attitudes that were used to convey sexual harrassment, when a subtle approach would have worked fine without making every guy in the film look like a total dick to women.


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Well, I'm going to go against the 'mild enthusiasm' grain and say how I totally loved this film. And how I love Charlize Theron. And every other actor in this film. And so on. I don't feel like writing a full review, but the acting, editing and patient pace of this film are all superb. I was thoroughly engaged throughout the whole film, and how real the whole aspect of sexual harrassment seemed to be treated.

And that's all. An easy B+.

PEACE, Mike.


Last edited by MikeQ. on Tue Feb 07, 2006 9:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.



Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:08 pm
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Maverikk wrote:
lennier wrote:
Thanks for the kind greeting.

What made the characterization of the minors so perfect was their silence! Remember that shaved man whom Josey turned to frequently in the movie? She asked him for help after her assault, and he expressed discontent during the union meeting. It was in his performance and at least half a dozen others (I admit, a rather small number out of dozens of loud men), while silent, perfectly captured their conflicting feelings towards their predicament- do they stand for women and risk loosing their job, or keep quiet and take the paycheck? Furthermore, we have to consider the environment and period this took place in. 1989 wasn't long ago to us, sitting her looking back. But back then, in the North Country, sexism was certainly commonly excepted in the workplace. While a slight exaggeration, I certainly believe men would be uncomfortable with having women "taking their jobs" in what was an economic slump. Their hostility, I'm guessing, was out of fear of change and was only towards women in the mine. As Josey's father pointed out, they never treated women in such a way at company picnics, etc. Why? That was out of the workplace, where they respected a woman's place. Someone else should have stood up during that meeting, and I'm sure a few men wanted to. But they didn't- and I can't say I don't blame them, all things considered


I don't know how it was in Minnesota, but I find it hard to believe that it's different than it was in Ohio, and I was a full time workforce member in 1989, and I never saw anything like that, and if I would have, not only would I (at 20 years old) have told the violator(s) to shut up, but the decent guys I worked with would have, too. In fact, I don't know of any stories from my grandmother, who worked full time, or any female aquaintances that I had at that time who worked in male dominated workplaces, where that kind of display was ever shown. Even back in high school, the guys didn't go around acting like pigs in large groups just because of raging hormones. Maybe small groups, but never the majority, or in North Country's case, the overwhelming majority. It was just a completely unrealistic display to get her point across that there was sexual harrassment front and center, from top to bottom, and in the real world, it wouldn't have been in such an over the top fashion as Niki Caro displayed.

The first time she meets her boss he tells her in front of the other girls that the doctor who gave her her exam told him she looks good underneath those clothes? Just one of the many examples of the over the top attitudes that were used to convey sexual harrassment, when a subtle approach would have worked fine without making every guy in the film look like a total dick to women.


Like I mentioned above, I think that the male behavior (certainly overly exaggerated, especially the doctor) is because of the type of work shown, as well as the time. This is purely conjecture, but mine working is certainly a rigorous, physical job attractive to harder, more masculine types. Those types are likely traditionalists, not your 1980s yuppie. Of course they aren't pleased with having women, perceived as weak, try and work their- or worse, take their jobs. It's a pride issue. Also, this is still the late 80s we're talking about. The American economy, especially the Midwestern economy (you and I can both testify to this- I have an grandmother who worked in a GM factory for three decades), was starting to become hard hit by a depressed economy and outsourcing. Factories and mines were closing left and right. There was plenty of job insecurity, and I honestly believe that, along with that traditional masculinity, caused them to be more vocal on the job. Their actions were despicable and we can both agree, likely exaggerated, but not unbelievable.

As I noted before, this is pure conjecture. I'm a lowly art student, not a historian. I can only speculate as to what was going on up there. I still firmly stand by my B+ rating for the film; the sexism issue was handled decently enough for me.


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Ignore my writing style. I haven't seen the movie for about three weeks so most of my thoughts will be jumbled and mostly sentence fragments.

This would fall into the "It's so good, it's bad" category. What I mean by that is that everyone involved is trying to hard for Oscar gold here.

Now, don't get me wrong, the story is important, and the performances are about as good as they can possibly be, but the movie is cliche ridden and worst of all, tedious. The courtroom scene is the least dramatic moment and the most cliched scene in the film. When Frances McDormand's character stands up got an unintentional giggle from me, though I do admit when her husband (Sean Bean) says on her behalf "I'm not dead yet" I thought that was pretty good.

That saying though, the film is worth seeing on DVD because of the performances. You can probably expect Charlize Theron, Richard Jenkins and Frances McDormand to all get Oscar nominations (Depending on the competition, Jenkins has a great shot).

However are they worth seeing for $8 a tickt plus snack prices? Not at all. Wait for the DVD. That's where the film will probably thrive.

C

(Yes, I changed the grade)

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Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:50 pm
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Maverikk wrote:
The second problem that I had, was that it played the men at the mine as pigs in a far too over the top way. Unless it's in a prison where the guys are so sex starved in the first place, and really have nothing to lose, large groups of family men and contributers to society do not get together and act like a bunch of barbaric cavemen. I could understand if it was a group, but THE WHOLE COMPANY? Give me a freakin' break with the man hate stuff, Ms. Caro. You could have gotten the point across in a much more subtle manner than that. :nono:


This is exactly what I'm afraid of, the kind of one-dimension characterization of the villains in order to establish the hero.

BTW, welcome to the board, lennier!


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I completely disagree about the comments trying to say the males were "over the top". I'm even slightly offended to hear other males try to say that this behaviour never happened and is not possible. I'm not surprised to hear men try to defend their own sex. Sexism still exists. For one, not all the men were "barbaric cavemen" in the film. In fact, there was an incredible balance between sick sexist men and those that were always trying to say "come on guys, knock it off. Leave her alone", etc. Most sick acts were done by ONE man: Bobby (I believe his name was). To generalize this onto all of the men is silly. Also, the one statement I can say for certain is in argument to the comments that it is unrealistic that no men would stand up and complain on the women's behalf. It's GROUP MENTALITY people. It happens ALL THE TIME with bullying in schools. In this, not only were the women afraid to say something, as they needed the job and feared further extreme harrassment from complaining, but the MEN who wanted to say something couldn't, as their job and reputation were on the line! At that time, their jobs were extremely important to provide for their families. Standing up and trying to help the women was a HUGE risk. It is TOTALLY believable to see nobody say anything. TOTALLY. God, I can't believe I have to actually try and justify this.

If you want take issue with the film, take issue with some of the too melodramatic moments, or whatever, but don't try and say that the men were unfairly viewed. Because that's total BS.

I'm already getting worked up over this, because some of these comments make me upset. I'm going to step out of this thread now. I've said my 7 cents. All I can say is to everyone who hasn't seen the film yet but was planning to: PLEASE don't listen to everything you read. I for one, completely and utterly disagree with some comments in this thread.

PEACE, Mike.


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All I'll say, Mike, is that it's my experience of many years in the workplace, and it was a total exaggeration to try to make the point, with all the men being the sacrificial lamb.

Did you not see their attitudes when she came into the lunchroom? At the meeting? Totally over the top, and isn't how it happens.

Personally, I can't believe you're so offended.


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Thanks for your comments, Mike. The worry I had aside, I still have trouble working myself up to go to theater and watch something that seems easily could be made for TV about a topic that I know exist in workplace. I feel I can piece the entire story together from the trailer alone (how she chose mining, the work environment, the father caught in the middle emotionally, the lawsuit, etc. all those feel very cliched).


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xiayun wrote:
Thanks for your comments, Mike. The worry I had aside, I still have trouble working myself up to go to theater and watch something that seems easily could be made for TV about a topic that I know exist in workplace. I feel I can piece the entire story together from the trailer alone (how she chose mining, the work environment, the father caught in the middle emotionally, the lawsuit, etc. all those feel very cliched).


I liked the film, and don't want to give the impression that I didn't. It was well made, and definitely beyond a TV movie, but I really could have done without seeing the men in the film (most of them) portrayed in such a negative way, as if they were pigs without a shred of decency. Sean Bean and Woody Harrelson were played as normal guys. The dad was conflicted between being a normal guy (and normal father) and a very undecent human being. The rest really had no decent qualities to speak of.

Go watch it, if for any reason, that you can make up your own mind about how the majority of men are portrayed.


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Maverikk wrote:
xiayun wrote:
Thanks for your comments, Mike. The worry I had aside, I still have trouble working myself up to go to theater and watch something that seems easily could be made for TV about a topic that I know exist in workplace. I feel I can piece the entire story together from the trailer alone (how she chose mining, the work environment, the father caught in the middle emotionally, the lawsuit, etc. all those feel very cliched).


I liked the film, and don't want to give the impression that I didn't. It was well made, and definitely beyond a TV movie, but I really could have done without seeing the men in the film (most of them) portrayed in such a negative way, as if they were pigs without a shred of decency. Sean Bean and Woody Harrelson were played as normal guys. The dad was conflicted between being a normal guy (and normal father) and a very undecent human being. The rest really had no decent qualities to speak of.

Go watch it, if for any reason, that you can make up your own mind about how the majority of men are portrayed.


I still maintain that not all of them were portrayed as being sexist. What about that damn bald guy? (Heh, can't remember his name and it's killing me). Or the other silent ones in the meeting? The ones in the courtroom that stood up in support of Josey? I don't think it's fair to lump them all together (which Caro did NOT do, imo). My grandmother saw this film this weekend and told me that, when she worked in the factories in the late 70s thru the 90s, there was sexism abound! She recalls her best friend being groped, sharing bathrooms with men, "cunt" all over the wall, alleged rapes, etc. She claims she wasn't as harassed because her brother was one of the general managers, but sexism was certainly apparent.


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lennier wrote:
I still maintain that not all of them were portrayed as being sexist. What about that damn bald guy? (Heh, can't remember his name and it's killing me). Or the other silent ones in the meeting? The ones in the courtroom that stood up in support of Josey? I don't think it's fair to lump them all together (which Caro did NOT do, imo). My grandmother saw this film this weekend and told me that, when she worked in the factories in the late 70s thru the 90s, there was sexism abound! She recalls her best friend being groped, sharing bathrooms with men, "cunt" all over the wall, alleged rapes, etc. She claims she wasn't as harassed because her brother was one of the general managers, but sexism was certainly apparent.


lennier, we are going to have to agree to disagree. I didn't think it was fair to lump all the guys into that mentality, either, but Caro did. They acted like animals, not like decent men.

I think more guys here should go see it for themselves so they can weigh in on this.


Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:08 pm
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Maverikk wrote:
lennier wrote:
I still maintain that not all of them were portrayed as being sexist. What about that damn bald guy? (Heh, can't remember his name and it's killing me). Or the other silent ones in the meeting? The ones in the courtroom that stood up in support of Josey? I don't think it's fair to lump them all together (which Caro did NOT do, imo). My grandmother saw this film this weekend and told me that, when she worked in the factories in the late 70s thru the 90s, there was sexism abound! She recalls her best friend being groped, sharing bathrooms with men, "cunt" all over the wall, alleged rapes, etc. She claims she wasn't as harassed because her brother was one of the general managers, but sexism was certainly apparent.


lennier, we are going to have to agree to disagree. I didn't think it was fair to lump all the guys into that mentality, either, but Caro did. They acted like animals, not like decent men.

I think more guys here should go see it for themselves so they can weigh in on this.


Definately :happy: it's subjective. I, for the record, am a male. :unsure:


Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:12 pm
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Just to throw in my two cents, I didn't think every male character was evil. The majority of them were, yes, but who else was going to be the antagonist? I think that's why they included Sean Bean's character so he could be the friendly guy. Even Richard Jenkins character turns out to be not all bad.

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Mon Oct 24, 2005 7:51 pm
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See, from the beginning I had little doubt that they were going to play up the workers being scumbags by and large. A lot of them are, though from the sound of things it seems pretty extreme. There was sexism, but women in 1989, even in a mill in Minnesota... well, that really seems like more of a specific case, where I get the impression they're making it seem like this happened everywhere. Just because people have been treated worse in other places doesn't mean that those who aren't treated right shouldn't have films about their struggles. But here it all just seems so manufactured, so over-the-top.


Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:46 pm
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MovieDude wrote:
See, from the beginning I had little doubt that they were going to play up the workers being scumbags by and large. A lot of them are, though from the sound of things it seems pretty extreme. There was sexism, but women in 1989, even in a mill in Minnesota... well, that really seems like more of a specific case, where I get the impression they're making it seem like this happened everywhere. Just because people have been treated worse in other places doesn't mean that those who aren't treated right shouldn't have films about their struggles. But here it all just seems so manufactured, so over-the-top.


Why don't you just see the film first before you say that, especially considering I don't think Niki Caro's intention was to show all men are evil. The film is called North Country, not...The Entire United States.


Tue Oct 25, 2005 3:09 pm
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