English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
Turkish
A farmer is pushed to his physical, emotional, and financial limit in P.J. Palmer’s short film, North Star.
James (Colman Domingo) is a farmer running out of chances. His farm went into decline when his husband, Craig (Malcolm Gets), entered the late stages of a degenerative ailment. With having to tend to the farm along with the physical demands of his partner, James must sell his last remaining working horse, North Star, to his friend Mike (Chris Sheffield) to maybe save the farm. Putting on a brave front for Craig, James says nothing about their situation and the farm’s impending foreclosure.
“His farm went into decline when his husband…entered the late stages of a degenerative ailment.”
Thank God for family…or not. Back from her vacation, Craig’s sister, Erin (Audrey Wasilewski), arrives with prescription drugs and IV bags for her brother. Erin’s arrival brings much-needed relief for James and Craig, but the goodwill fades when she turns the TV on to evangelists Jess (Laura Innes) and Dr. Owen Broderick (Kevin Bacon). Erin insists that Craig live with her and her husband and reiterates that they can only tolerate their “sinful” lifestyle for only so much longer.
North Star is simply masterful storytelling, particularly for a drama. Writer/director P.J. Palmer opens with a morning on the farm and James getting ready for his work as a farmer and as Craig’s caretaker. Everything you need to know about this story is told with very few words but in the deliberate and measured performance of Colman Domingo as James.
As a lifelong Evangelical myself, his portrayal of his Christian characters in Erin and the Broderick’s are quite biting. Yet I understand that frustration of the helpful hand that comes with conditions of repentance and the droning of obnoxious religious speech that forces God on you at every turn…cuz you can’t argue with God. This story of North Star is about love…a love worth fighting for.
For screening information, visit the North Star official website.
