Harvest of Fire (1996 TV Movie) User Reviews

Outside World Barges In

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 10 March 2014]

"Harvest" opens with the gathering of an Amish group at what seems to be a wedding. After a few scenes, we flash back to the wedding party, and they spot a local barn burning. The village rushes about to save the barn and animals, but then we see more and more barns burning. FBI agent Sally Russell (Lolita Davidovich) gets assigned to the scene, and stops to speak with the local sheriff ( J.A. Preston) to get information and get started. Of course, she meets up with the Amish and makes a couple blunders, but they seem to smile and brush it off. Then she's off to the local bar to poke around and stir things up there too. Stuff happens... more stuff happens. Sally spends more time with the Amish, and befriends Annie, and they educate each other on the ways of their different worlds. Slow, mild, simmering story. Not a whole lot of excitement here. We learn a bit about the beliefs of the Amish people, but there are definitely mistakes made here and there in authenticity. There are a couple possible suspects in the fires, but no-one slips up and gives themselves away ahead of time....we'll all have to wait for the ending. And all those commercials, since it's on the Hallmark Channel.

Directed by Arthur Seidelman, who was nominated for two Emmies back in the 1980s. He also directed a bunch of "Murder, She Wrote" episodes.

Better than most Amish depictions

[steiner-sam · 6/10 · 20 May 2021]

Set in 1990s Eastern Iowa in a fictional Palmersville near the Amish community of Kalona. The mystery is whether barn fires happening among the Amish are a hate crime by outsiders.

The movie opens with a wedding ceremony that teaches the viewer how Amish carry out this rite. Even the singing the authentic if a bit too fast (really). However, at the end of the celebration it's discovered the host's barn is on fire, quickly followed by barn fires at two nearby Amish farms. This leads Sheriff Garrison to suspect a hate crime, so he asks for help from the FBI. Sally Russell has a bit of an issue with her boyfriend, before she heads from Chicago to Iowa.

The Sheriff gives Sally a crash course on the Amish and the separateness of their culture. Sally meets the family where the first fire occurred, which includes the widow Annie Beiler, her daughter, Rachel, and son, John. Sally and Annie hit it off, as Annie is quite outgoing and positive in her approach to life. One interesting comment by Annie is that the Amish have already forgiven the arsonist. This was a full decade before the Nickel Mines school shooting that brought the Amish approach to forgiveness to international attention.

A variety of suspects surface as the story unfolds, including a couple of town hooligans who are angry with John Beiler because of his friendship with Nancy, the girlfriend of George, one of the hoods. (John is in his Rumspringa years, which is explained by Annie to Sally). Another suspect is a real estate agent who approaches all the victims of barn fires with offers to buy land. The third suspect is Jacob Hostetler, a cantankerous Amish man who is being shunned by the Amish district because he has a curved roof on his barn instead of a pointed roof. Jacob's son, Sam, was the boyfriend of Rachel Beiler, but he is also shunned because he eats at the same table with his father.

Sally forms a close relationship with Annie Beiler, and after another fire, spends some time living with Annie and her family. So she learns to quilt and other charming things.

On the day of the barnraising to replace Annie's barn, Rachel has a second confrontation with Jacob Hostetler. After a harsh exchange, Samuel Hostetler confesses to setting the fires because of his anger over losing Rachel. Samuel goes to the barnraising and seeks forgiveness from Bishop Levi Lapp (Wesley Addy), which is extended.

Many facets of the film are admirable. The producers worked hard to get costume and appearance right--consulting with Mennonites who live near the Iowa Amish (who declined to cooperate with the filming). Some things still were not right -- some of the Amish beards were too trimmed, and Samuel Hostetler's hair looked more like a hippie than a Amish teenager. Annie Beiler was too saccharine in her personality for my taste.

And the shunning. Movies about the Amish always make much ado about shunning and usually get it wrong. It's not clear to me that Samuel Hostetler was baptized. If he was not baptized, he could not be shunned. You can't shun people who have not made an adult decision to commit to the community through baptism. And it's not clear to me that a barn roof is a shunning offence. There are degrees of Amish discipline. It is also possible to be "set back" from taking communion at church. It's a milder form of discipline that allows you to still be part of the community.

A plot issue is why Samuel would have set the first three fires before Rachel finally told him she could no longer see him.

Nonetheless, this was an entertaining film that did better than most on Amish themes.

Excellent Piece of Art

[Karadago · 10/10 · 6 April 1999]

This is a film that is beatifully done in every sense. Its direction, its acting (Patty Duke is marvelous), its music, its writing, just everything. It's as gorgeous as looking at one of the amish's quilts.

From Hallmark Hall of Fame, this was the year's second highest-rated tv movie.

Harvest of Fire Burns Bright ****

[edwagreen · 10/10 · 2 August 2010]

Wonderful television movie dealing with the Amish people.

What makes this film so good is that at by the end these people are willing to accept their own mistakes and come together. Obviously, Amish people have strong family values as they shun technological advancement.

Lolita Davidovich is wonderful as the FBI agent sent to the Amish country to investigate a series of barn burnings. She is equally matched by Patty Duke, an understanding Amish women, who while accepting the values of her people, also knows how to relate somewhat to the outside world.

There are the usual cast of characters who come under immediate suspicion. We can't jump to conclusions and while the ending may be a shock to others, it still shows the cohesiveness of these people in times of adversity.

This is a beautifully done film.

The ending soured me on the film

[silbar · 31 October 2002]

I considered the first two-thirds of the film fairly interesting, as I didn't know much about Amish customs. However, the resolution of who did the barn burnings (which I won't reveal here) struck me as very false, contrived, and unbelievable.

You call the Fire Department - I'll explain why we don't have a phone.

[goudsward · 20 March 1999]

Let me put this delicately - this ain't exactly an ensemble piece. If you take away the meaningful dialogue between Lolita Davidovich and Patty Duke, you end up with about 15 minute of film left, including footage of 4 barns burning down.

And, perhaps it's due to my proximity to the Pennsylvania Amish area, but I really thought it was a tad condescending to the audience to have the Sheriff explain and pontificate on the Amish customs every time he and the FBI agent head out to investigate.