
In 1932 in Kingdom County, Vermont, a fire destroys much of the family's hay. They can't feed all their cattle and they can't get more hay, so they have to sell some of their cattle. Quebec Bill used to run whiskey, and that may be the only way to make money. Quebec Bill's father disappeared, according to Aunt Cordelia, as did many who ran whiskey. Quebec Bill came back to Vermont because of his father after working on ranches and as a lumberjack in Montana. Quebec Bill's bro... (Full plot summary below)
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In 1932 in Kingdom County, Vermont, a fire destroys much of the family's hay. They can't feed all their cattle and they can't get more hay, so they have to sell some of their cattle. Quebec Bill used to run whiskey, and that may be the only way to make money. Quebec Bill's father disappeared, according to Aunt Cordelia, as did many who ran whiskey. Quebec Bill came back to Vermont because of his father after working on ranches and as a lumberjack in Montana. Quebec Bill's brother-in-law Henry has run whiskey before, but he's reluctant to now. Wild Bill wants to go along but his mother Evangeline? has to be persuaded. Rat, who helps run the farm, also goes along but isn't sure he wants to. The group crosses the border into Canada, where whiskey is legal. Two monks see nothing wrong with helping out and they agree to store what the guys get. But the guys have no money. They have to steal from the family that sells most of the whiskey, and violence becomes necessary. Wild Bill doesn't want to kill, but he has to. He is occasionally visited by his Aunt Cordelia, who appears and disappears mysteriously.
Leave your thoughts about Disappearances.
| St. Paul Pioneer PressChris Hewitt (St. Paul)The movie has a literary quality, and not just because everyone's always quoting Shakespeare. |
| St. Paul Pioneer PressChris HewittThe movie has a literary quality, and not just because everyone's always quoting Shakespeare. |
| Urban CinefileUrban Cinefile CriticsIt's an ambitious work and shouldn't be too readily dismissed for its semi-successful foray into spirit-land. There is much else to enjoy and a wonderful terrain to discover. |
| San Francisco ChronicleWalter V. AddiegoThough set in Vermont in the 1930s, this has the feel of a Western -- one with mystical overtones -- and provides a great role for Kris Kristofferson, who's looking well weathered these days. |
| Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenA frontier spirit and a strong connection to the landscape inform the piece, which aims not to wow but to immerse the viewer in a mystical, hardscrabble, bygone world. |
| San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoA heartfelt effort, if at times a bit heavy-handed. |
| One Guy's OpinionFrank SwietekLabored, a bit of backwoods magical realism that wants to soar but never takes off. |
| VarietyJustin ChangA frequently mesmerizing if exceedingly strange coming-of-age odyssey. |
| Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonThe movie looks like far more than a million dollars and it offers the kind of smart, picaresque good time you get from books like "The Reivers" and "Huckleberry Finn" and movies like "Bronco Billy" and "Bonnie and Clyde." |
| Boston GlobeWesley MorrisAn utterly earnest, likable enough family-focused action-adventure. |