Country is a 1984 American
drama film which follows the trials and tribulations of a rural family as they struggle to hold on to their farm during the trying economic times experienced by family farms in 1980s
America.
The film was written by
William D. Wittliff, and stars real-life couple
Jessica Lange and
Sam Shepard. The film was directed by
Richard Pearce, and
was shot on location in Dunkerton and Readlyn Iowa, and at Burbank's Walt Disney Studios.
Lange, who also co-produced the film, was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Actress and a
Golden Globe award for her role.
Then-U.S. president
Ronald Reagan stated in his personal diary that this film "was a blatant propaganda message against our agri programs".
Some members of the U.S. Congress took the film so seriously that Jessica Lange was brought before a congressional panel to testify as an expert about living on family farms.
Country was one of three 1984 films, along with The River and Places in the Heart, that dealt with the perspective of family farm life "struggles."