Northfork ...

My first movie recommendation for the week is Northfork, a 2003 art-house film that was shot in the country around Great Falls and up on the Hi-Line. The film is set in 1950s Montana, where the dying little town of Northfork is about to be flooded by a hydroelectric project. Everything is lonely and elegiac, with handsome photography reminiscent of The Last Picture Show. As for the storyline, it's definitely both surreal and odd ... odd enough that it likely won't appeal to everyone.

But I enjoyed it ... and even those who don't will still appreciate the visuals, which convey a real sense of place. And the film has a relatively star-studded cast by Montana standards, including Nick Nolte, James Woods, and Daryl Hannah.