The movie Northfork tells us about a town that is metaphorically 'dammed' because it is about to be flooded. Because of this, it's citizens need to be relocated, and it is the job of the Ford-driving men in black suits, the 'Evacuators', to do so. Each pair carry a set of angel wings as bribery to the citizens of Northfork.
Meanwhile, in a parallel time period are a group of strange angels looking for the 'unknown angel', which a boy named Irwin claims to be.
The film is takes place simultaneously in a surreal dream-scape and reality. Irwin, a sick young boy, meets these angels and you are left to wonder if they are his illusions or some sort of symbolism for his impending death. The fact that it takes place in this dream-like yet at the same time 'real' place serves as a good metaphor for his death, however. Because he is 'dying', he is 'going to heaven', which means that Irwin is at the halfway point between heaven and earth, which might explain why he is able to see the angels. At the same time, however, when the Evacuator stumbles across the house these angels dwell in, he gets a glimpse of their faces – What does this mean? Is this a hint that he, too, is nearing death?
Another interesting symbol in the film what the boat in which the two wives and husband lived. Based on their religious attitudes, I immediately linked their ship to the tale of Noah's Ark, seeing how the family was planning to escape via their ship, eve though it was seemingly impossible.
After watching Northfork, there are two quotes that remained with me, one of them takes place when one of the Evacuators holds a statue of Christ on the cross and tells his associate, 'Without the right words, all this is, is a man, mailed to two pieces of wood”. This quote really makes me think about what exactly he means by 'the right words'. Story-telling has always been a great part of all religion, but in the context of Northfork, the Evacuator is pointing out the fact that regardless of what you say, it will be hard to persuade anyone else's mind to better suit your beliefs. Just as the religious man in the boathouse tries to sway the minds of the Evacuators, the opposite can also be applied – you ultimately will have a hard time changing anyone's strong beliefs, but granted you use the 'right words', you may have a chance to change them. This refers to the idea that the Evacuators are trying to persuade the family in the boathouse to leave town.
The other quote that stayed with me is “You spend all your time polishing this car to make it perfect, all for a rock to ruin it”. This is very personal to me because I can relate to it from experience metaphorically. Sometimes you try your hardest to do a certain task and make everything perfect, only to realize that ultimately the perfection will be ruined, and is no longer perfect. To me, this indicates the idea that perfection never existed. Yet, what is the driving force that allows us to make this same mistake over and over again? Even though I know that perfection does not exist, our society keeps trying to perfect and improve to become 'better', struggling for 'perfection' when it is essentially unachievable.
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