• From the Eclipse Shelf: God’s Country

    Louis Malle’s God’s Country is a remarkable account of one hamlet in the heartland of the United States—Glencoe, Minnesota—as seen first in 1979 and then again in 1985. Malle was fascinated by what he saw as a very American brand of provincialism, marked by religious faith and sexual and racial homogeneity. Yet his big-hearted love for the people of Glencoe is also evident; this portrait of small-town America by a European outsider is anything but condescending. Malle structured his film around interviews, letting a handful of the five thousand or so folks from this farming community tell their own stories. Of particular interest to Malle was a free-spirited, twenty-six-year-old social-security-office-worker named Jean, who sat down with the director for an extended, remarkably candid talk about religion, sex, love, marriage, and discrimination. Here are a couple of minutes from that conversation.

    From the Eclipse Shelf, Video

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4 comments

  • By Christopher
    March 01, 2012
    11:37 PM

    Just watched this for the first time the other day. Really loved this scene in particular! Great work by Malle.
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  • By John
    March 02, 2012
    12:00 PM

    This is just a great set. Period.
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  • By rv
    March 03, 2012
    02:43 PM

    louis malle's eclipse box is among criterion's finest of fine releases over the last few years... he was an amazing documentarian (& probably best when smudging documentary & fiction, as he did in my dinner with andré, & vanya on 42nd. st.)
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  • By ayoungen
    March 05, 2012
    10:48 PM

    Did anyone ever catch the lift from this in the Simpsons when Homer appears in Rent 2 as the evil landlord? "I've come to collect the rent!"
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