My Antonia (1995)

Life in rural Nebraska in the late 1890s.

Director:

Joseph Sargent

Writers:

Willa Cather (novel), Victoria Riskin (teleplay)

Stars:

Jason Robards, Eva Marie Saint, Neil Patrick Harris

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Robards	...	Josea Burden
Eva Marie Saint	...	Emmaline Burden
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Jimmy Burden
Jan Tríska	...	Mr. Shimerda
Norbert Weisser	...	Otto
Anne Tremko	...	Lena Lingard
Travis Fine	...	Harry Paine
Mira Furlan	...	Mrs. Shimerda
Boris Lee Krutonog
Elina Löwensohn	...	Antonia Shimerda
Bobby Goldstein	...	Ambrosch Shimerda
T. Max Graham	...	Mr. Harling
John Livingston	...	Charley Harling
Sarah Bernhardt	...	Sally Harling
Devon Arielle Cahill	...	Nina Harling

Storyline

Life in rural Nebraska in the late 1890s.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | character name in title | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 March 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Axehastos erotas

Filming Locations:

Stuhr Museum - 3133 W. Highway 34, Grand Island, Nebraska, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gideon Productions,Wilshire Court Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Slick Hollywood look to gritty Nebraska story

Doogie Howser plays Doogie Howser if he were sent back 100 years to Nebraska. Not a flaw on him, body or soul. He falls for a poor immigrant girl, Antonia, who lives in a sod hut and whose father commits suicide. And he's always true to her in spirit, as she is true to him.

The story is a good one, and the setting is beautiful--actually filmed in Nebraska, it seems. The setting is also unique in that rarely are prairie stories filmed. There are no cowboys and Indians, and no canyons and buttes: it's just flat earth, and people growing wheat, wheat and more wheat. The woman playing Antonia (Elina Löwensohn) was exceptional, but the others all looked too Hollywood to be in 1880s Nebraska. The grandparents(Jason Robards & Eva-Marie Saint) just seemed to be in a Celebrex commercial rather than in an adaptation of a classic novel set in a long-ago time. And Doogie Howser was great to look at--no wonder he was so easy for the girls to love--but his whole character was too good to be true. Yet, the film delivers, even if it definitely has the feel of a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. No swearin', no sex, even though it seems as though Antonia got herself employed at a whorehouse. I guess we're seeing it through Doogie's eyes, and to him she's just a waitress and a dime-a-dance girl.

I don't know if this has been made into a real movie, but it would be good to see it without the feel-good gloss. At least the ending is not the expected one.