October Country

Most recently my mother was putting together some scrap books about different parts of our family. There was a book devoted to my brother, an other book devoted to family pets and one devoted to myself. There are stories that come flooding to my mind when looking at old photos. Stories that not only define who I am now but what kind of family my family was. We have all heard the cliche of "a picture is worth a thousand words." When you take those words and put them together what kind of story do you get and what kind of story does one get when thousands of pictures are put together? October Country (Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher, 2009) is a film that can be easily defined as a portrait of the Mosher family. Pictures and portraits combined that tell a story. The film traces the story of the Mosher's from Halloween to the following Halloween. In this time period the filmmakers portray a family that is held together through the bond of family, even though challenges surround them and the bonds of family are near breaking.

The film opens in a windy October day in a cemetery in Mohawk Valley New York. The voice of Dottie Mosher explains how the grandparents of the Moshers were in conflict with each other even after death. The story of each of the grandparents funeral being disrupted by massive wind storms is not only an apt metaphor for the relationship of the grandparents but also for the Mosher family as a whole. The film shows how the Mosher family continues to deal with the "storms" of life but also how resilient the members of the family are even when it seems that all is lost.



What seems to be part of the bond that keeps the family together is their honesty about who they are, the mistakes they have made and their refusal to give up. One could easily look at the Mosher family as dysfunctional and even hopeless. As each member of the family is interviewed there are obvious moments of deep hurt and regret. The father, Don, is a former Vietnam and Gulf War veteran who is hard edged and carries memories that are a burden. His sister Denise lives alone and is involved in witchcraft. Her and Don do not get along and their problems have created a deep rift in their relationship. Daneal is one of Dottie's granddaughters who herself has a child and seems to have been mixed up in poor relationships. Donna is the mother of Daneal and Desi, she seems burned out by the choices of her life. Desi is the spunky younger daughter of Donna, who seems innocent but full of knowledge of her families problems. Besides the immediate family members, the family has taken in an older foster child named Chris. Chris's past is full of mischief and crime and his presence in the family seems transient.

The family is aware that the past seems to repeat itself with the women of the family. The conflicts within the family may seem at times bent on selfishness but in the end each of the members of the family won't abandon each other. Dottie strength and resilience of taking care of her children, grandchildren and foster children is at times beyond comprehension. Her actions may not seem influential but her actions are contagious in that when Daneal, Donna, Don or Desi seem like caving in to the hardships in their life they keep pressing forward. This even shows up in Chris who has a propensity to be resilient even when left with nothing.



The filmmakers mix interviews with shots of nature and the surrounding area of where the family lives. There is a connection between the weather and the problems that the family faces. The family is in just as much a struggle in winter as in summer. Relief comes only in small parts and Halloween seems like one of the ways that the family can come together and leave behind all of their problems. In one part of the film Don speaks about the ghosts that exist from the past, and the only thing to do is make peace with them. October Country is a cry for peace for the Mosher family. One can only hope that they will have that peace. But October Country also allows us to evaluate our family, to look at our disfunction's, problems and pain and try to come to peace with them.