Where the Rivers Flow North (1994)

Cheering on some valiant oldsters fighting to save a disappearing way of life has a certain irony when done from in front of a newfangled VCR. Here, a knotty backwoods couple (Rip Torn and Tantoo Cardinal) stand up to a power company — led by an unconvincing villain (Michael J. Fox) — that wants to flood their land. They don't exactly win, but they go down emitting sparks of too-cute homespun heroism. Set in 1927 and shot in Vermont's achingly beautiful Northeast Kingdom, Where the Rivers Flow North has a quaint look and a wholesome heart. If it's a bit hollow, that's what comes from making a simple movie about one of civilization's longest-running conundrums.

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