a dreamy and stunningly atmospheric film take place in a small town of northfork and montana in 1955. the government official arrive to evacuate the town about to be inundate by a new hydroelctrical dam . there be the other visitor in the town and the angel from another time but they only see by a die boy irvin . a local priest ( nick nolte in a quiet heartbreaking performance ) take care of the boy . irvin pleads with the angel to leave the place with them . there be some unearthly quality in the film and some dignified mourning and sublime sadness when you suddenly realize the inevitable finality of everything human and their relationship and city and country and civilization and the whole world a we know it . death and birth have something in common we go through them in the ultimate loneliness . i can not recall the film that affect me in the same way and as deeply a northfork do and the film so beautiful and so tender and so quiet and so powerful and so heartbreaking and so move . even now and after several week since i saw it and tear come to my eye when i only think of it . after i saw it and i have to talk to somebody about it . i send a pm to one of my friend and i ask and please tell me what i just saw . and my friend reply with the word and you just saw one of the great film of modern time . one of these day others will see the light .