Film Review

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Harvest of Fire
Directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman
Artisan Entertainment 04/96 DVD/VHS Feature Film
PG - thematic elements

In Harvest of Fire, Lolita Davidovich plays Sally Russell, an FBI agent sent to investigate several barn burnings in an Amish community. A local sheriff believes that it might be a hate crime. At first Sally finds the Amish very formal. They are, after all, a religious community that is uneasy with outsiders whom they call "English."

Annie Beiler (Patty Duke), a widow whose barn was burned down, befriends Sally and for a brief time lets her stay in her home during the investigation.

The screenplay by Richard Alfieri and Susan Nanus does a fine job conveying Amish views on family, community solidarity, gratitude, forgiveness, simplicity, and living in the present moment. In the end, the real drama is not about the crime but about the friendship which forms between these two very different women. As Annie tells Sally, "When two lives touch, they can never again completely be separated."

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by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat