Far and Away (1992, VHS)

This has to be one of my favorite movies. I caught it once on late-night TV years ago, and have never been able to get it out of my mind. I rented it the next day and continued to rent it sporadically for the next few years until I finally found a copy to purchase.

This movie is witty, charming, and incredibly realistic. It stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as Joseph Donnelly, a poor tenant farmer who wants nothing more than his own plot of land and Shannon Christie, the daughter of the landlord who holds Joseph's land.

It begins simply enough: Joseph's father is killed during a riot against the rich landholders and during the funeral his house is burned to the ground because of unpaid rent. He seeks out Daniel Christie to get his revenge and is thwarted by the beautiful daughter, Shannon.

Shannon, however, is not happy in her sheltered, wealthy lifestyle. She hates the restrictive clothing and lifestyle and, more than once, is reprimanded by her mother for "riding her horse wildly" or "being vulgar" by not buttoning her collar up to her chin. She longs for the freedom of America.

She accosts the young Joseph, tantilizing him with talk of free land in America, and the two travel there together, only to find themselves penniless and managed by the "work boss" Mr. Kelley. The dream of land is forced to take backseat to such obvious necessities like food and shelter. They are forced to share a room, traveling under the guise of a brother and sister. They work in a chicken factory, and Joseph boxes.

But the dream of land lives strong inside both of them and forms a strong bond until the end, the great Oklahoma Land Rush.

The movie is just marvelous. Kidman and Cruise play the characters perfectly, and the romantic and sexual tension between the "siblings" is almost tangible. Some of the scenes that arise from them being forced to share a room, or Joseph teaching Shannon how to do laundry properly, or their arguement about his hats, are priceless. The film is shot in 10mm film, I believe. The colors are perfect, shadows, everything is real enough without being overdone. The secondary characters actually evolve as well, some of them, and provide excellent entertainment and obstacles.

All in all, there is a reason I've been obsessed with this movie for years. I find its incredibly under appreciated.