Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Tss5078 Sexual harassment wasn't a concern in the work place until 1984, when the first class action sexual harassment lawsuit was brought against the owners of a mine in Minnesota. This is the story told in the award winning film, North Country, which graphically shows the horrors these women had to face at work on a daily basis. Charlize Theron was amazing, portraying Josey Aimes, the woman who finally stood up and said enough is enough. Theron is the kind of actress who is usually overlooked because of the roles she takes. I had a difficult time judging what kind of an actress she really was until seeing her in the role of a lifetime. Portraying Aimes as realistically as possible, Theron really made the audience feel the struggle of a single mother, having to take a difficult job, just to put food on the table. We see how the harassment at work effected every aspect of her life and it actually changed my view on sexual harassment. As harsh as it sounds, I always viewed sexual harassment as a law created by people who were too serious and couldn't take a joke, but the story of Josey Aimes is no joke. No person, male or female, of any color, race, or sexuality, should ever have to face even half of what Aimes had to go through. This example is how you know that North Country is one amazing film, because any movie that can change a persons opinion on a subject, is worth it's weight in gold. Theron isn't the only gem in this film, as France McDormand also received an Oscar nomination for her role as a co-worker suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease. I also thought that Woody Harrelson deserved recognition for his portrayal of the attorney who represented the women. In 1984, there had never been a case like this, and for him to go out on a limb for something like this was truly special, and its reflected in his performance. From top to bottom this film is very solid, the cast is terrific, and the story is a historically accurate portrayal of sadly, a much overlooked moment in American judicial history. North Country is the kind of film that I truly believe every child should see before entering the work force for the first time. It is that powerful and also earns a spot on our list of must see movies!

stephanie_sposito Based on the book "Class action: The story of Lois Jensen and the landmark case that changed sexual harassment Law" by Clara Bingham e Laura Leedy Gansler , North Country (2005) tell us the story of the character Josey Aimes greatly performed by Charlize Theron. Josey is a single mother of two children and she is tired of suffering with her partner. So she decides to return to her parent's house and to remake her life. Returning to Minnesota (USA) Josey can work in the mines, but something wrong happens there. Women are treated in a different way: they are insulted all the time by other workers. Moreover, they are sexually harassed.Josey notices that isn't treatment normal , although other women don't have encourage to talk about this situation, so she decides to change this situation resorting to justice. The lawyer asks her to convince other workers to join the fight, in other words, to start a class action against the Company. Unfortunately, they don't accept for fear and their situation only gets worse every day in Mina. This case comes to court and so the movie alternates moments in court and in Josey's life. It's an interesting movie because mainly based on real facts; in other words, we can't change the end of the movie. We must accept it even if it is negative. This is an important movie that helps us realize how jokes that seem harmless get out of control, such as those characterized by bullying. To talk about harassment is a difficult issue to be handled because unfortunately people are afraid to report. Josey knew that she could not fight for their rights alone. She needed everyone to come together for the same cause.

Jan-Peter Scheffer Notes on the 2005 U.S. film 'North Country', about a "Class Action" in Minnesota that was essential to the social-legal struggle for female emancipation, much like what is represented by the 2010 British film 'Made in Dagenham', which historically precedes it as an earlier part of the same struggle, but which primarily centers around the economic aspect of it.Thoughts on Josey's character.Knowledge does not equal intelligence, but rather may serve as a catalyst of an already existing potential, a latent force, which is human intelligence. In this sense, one can more rightly say that experience equals knowledge. To maintain that Josey's character is of "average intelligence", as some seem to do, counts as a continuation of one's, as once it was also her, ignorance about the essence of the female-human psyche, one's core identity and true source of power, and therefore, it is patriarchal condescendence. And it is exactly this cultural condescendence that she overcame through staying, or rather, becoming true to her core identity, unleashing a wealth of social and practical intelligence, and through sheer courage and perseverance, thus becoming a true and authentic leader in the emancipation of women, but firstly, of herself, and there is nothing "average" about that.Thoughts on the film.As for the dramatic and cinematographic qualities of 'North Country': this film gives the viewer a strong sense of location and reality, and it is a top-notch realistic socio-political, historical drama of a rare kind, meaning that its occurrence happens few and far between, and of which I mentioned another example, 'Made in Dagenham', that can and will make one think about, and re-think one's experiences and views, correcting aspects of one's perception through the relative wisdom of hindsight, and also affirming and deepening what one has already learned, or perhaps always suspected about the world, about people, and above all, about oneself. This film is as much about women as it is about men, the struggle for, and no less against, gender equality being the story whereby its main characters are driven, the ideal, and the necessity of final gender equality being its passionate, convincing message, and therefore this film is for women and men equally.Concluding my review, I'd say that 'North Country' represents a raw, but eloquent and important chapter in the continuing history of the gains and losses, the pain and victory that characterize all such essential human struggles. For its all-encompassing portrayal of the struggle for female emancipation, through the compassionate, clear analysis of one chapter of it, this film deserves a full house, and in more than one sense.

John Raymond Peterson Set aside the aspect that the story is based on a landmark legal case, one that had profound impact around the world and never mind the drama that conveys how a battered mother of two was castigated, even by her own father, because she kept secret her rape by a teacher when she was sixteen; there are, in my opinion, nine good reasons for watching this movie, and they are: Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Richard Jenkins, Jeremy Renner, Sean Bean, Sissy Spacek, Michelle Monaghan and Brad William Henke. Experienced, talented and all delivering very good performances. Theron and McDormand were nominated for Oscars in a year (2005) that did not lack in great movies and when the Oscars nominations were limited to five.In 2005-2006, I was not able to watch as many movies I have in recent years and so I overlooked this movie for too long. The cast is, as you obviously could tell, my first reason for picking this movie to watch recently. The box office was not a success, though ratings by critics and viewers alike were good to not bad; the storyline doesn't have what one would call entertaining appeal. However, for those who look for more than just entertainment, those who want an experience, this movie will deliver the goods. I was surprised how a few reviewers completely missed the point of the movie, focusing on the wrong things, the ones that, in life, don't matter all that much; instead I think I got the message that Michael Seitman was conveying through his script, and what McDormand, Bean and especially Harrelson were making. Theron had the least desirable part, that of the lead, because her character is one that made all the others shine; I can't think of too many movies that work in such a way.The closing credits inform the audience of the importance of the legal precedent and how money was never the issue; the movie uses the story to tell something more important about life than a legal struggle and if you get that, you are not only happier for having watched it, you are wiser than most. So with all that being said, you can determine if this movie is for you.