Heartland (film)


Heartland is a 1979 American film, directed by Richard Pearce, starring Rip Torn and Conchata Ferrell. The film is a stark depiction of early homestead life in the American West. It is based on a memoir by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, titled Letters of a Woman Homesteader.

Plot

In 1910 Wyoming, a widow and her seven-year old daughter travel by train to two great unknowns-a strange land and life in a remote frontier with a man they never met.

Production

Set in southwestern Wyoming, where Stewart homesteaded, the movie was filmed in central Montana.
The soundtrack features New Orleans clarinetist George Lewis playing the hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."

Reception

In 1980, the film was featured as a "Buried Treasure" by film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel on an episode of the TV show, Sneak Previews,

Cast

In 1980, the film shared the Golden Bear award for Best Film at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival.