Northern Light: Michigan verite

As Kelly O writes:

Northern Light...is a humble and quietly thoughtful piece of cinéma vérité that follows three families who are connected to one another by their shared participation in an annual competitive snowmobile race. The directors shadow the families not only to the long and grueling 500-lap snowmobile race, but also to their respective jobs as truckers, Walmart clerks, and nursing home attendants. The camera captures them praying before dinner, going to birthday parties, sweating through cheerleading practice, having babies, and even, in one scene, competing in a female bodybuilding competition.

Northern Light seems to want to respectfully elevate, honor, and "make an honest woman outta" the slower-paced life of all people who live and die in small towns. The snowmobiling scenes seem secondary, but still remind you that quality of life depends on getting out in the world—even if your world is a frigid 22 degrees below zero, and your hobby is going 100 miles an hour around an ice track on a frozen lake. Staying active means staying alive....

Read Ms. O's full review of Northern Light here. Trailer below, and here are full Northern Light screening times.

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