Sunday in the Country (1974)

You won't be disappointed!

Good concept, poorly executed.

This is an astonishing documentary that will wring your heart while it bends your mind

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

'Vengeance is Mine' - also known as 'Sunday in the Country' - the plot of this Canadian thriller revolves around three deranged criminals who plan to force their way into a rural property to evade police pursuit. The film takes a while to warm up with over 40 minutes before farmer Ernest Borgnine and his granddaughter encounter the criminals at their home, but from the moment they meet, tension simmers. The film impressively avoids going in expected directions; this is not the typical home invasion film that one might anticipate, and without revealing too much, it can be said that the film questions whether we should sympathise with Borgnine, who overreacts to the home invaders. In fact, as the film wears on, he seems less and less mentally stable, with this gradual progression a testament to Borgnine's acting ability (by comparison, Michael J. Pollard is irritating throughout, even as he grows easier to relate to in the film's second half). Shot on location in rural Ontario, the film benefits from its isolated setting, which at first makes Borgnine seem all the more vulnerable until we realise just how hard it is for absolutely anyone to get help there given how far away the nearest neighbours are. 'Vengeance is Mine' might not have big shocks as in films like 'Straw Dogs' and 'Death Wish', to which it is often compared, but it comes with a quiet power and lingers in the mind long after it is over.

first i'd like to say that this movie is flawless, only 80 minutes on the version i saw, and anyone who posts trivia on this movie should think hard first. The movie occurs in real time= 1 day, from time to go to church in the morning until its over. Which is before dark. The original Canadian title is Sunday IN THE COUNTRY, and if you have ever lived in the country in the summertime there is a good chance you might eat dinner at 4 pm. Saying that, there is a good chance it may not get dark until as late as 9pm. So whatever previous self proclaimed genius's in here got confused about it being light out after dark....(threw window's or the like) oughta hang it up ! There was more than enough time for this one to play out / without the sun ever needing to fall. DO THE MATH....Now that iv'e got that out of the way....the American title is vengeance is mine, so besides this being what the movie is about i'll spare you the time telling you anything about the movie or it's characters. I'll just tell you this, the daughter is a bleeding heart liberal, the grandfather is an oldfashioned conservative a spooky early 70's movie at the best level with all the shadows....lol! that is under the trees and in a farm house and barn which are both only dimly lit, due to no artificial light. Lite only by add of the sun threw windows, amazingly this you will find happens in the COUNTRY! lol excellent movie that only gets deeper after the 5th viewing. Not a single wasted scene, or word,can be witnessed in this one. I'm certain a movie, better made, in this genre has never occurred. Period. That is a low budget film, If you view this film and don't automatically want to view it at least one more time.....you are the casual sort and one never to be confused with a movie buff.

Three bank robber killers, including "loose cannon" (Michael J. Pollard), become trapped by roadblocks in the rural countryside. Abandoning their stolen vehicle, they hike to a distant farmhouse. Prepared and waiting is a church going farmer (Ernest Borgnine), his granddaughter, and an oafish farmhand. The three uninvited guests are ambushed by Borgnine, taken prisoner, and routinely tortured. As minutes pass, Borgnine becomes less and less stable, and more and more unhinged, leaving the granddaughter as the only hope for sanity to prevail. Although Borgnine gets to deal out his own brand of justice, it comes at a very high price. - MERK

The movie moves through its plot in subtle ways- no big explosions or car chases, not even any prolonged suspense- you know exactly what is going to happen as it happens, yet I found myself glued to this movie.The atmosphere was really gritty and things... just happen. Almost like being a cab rolling through unfamiliar territory with a cabbie who is speaking about unpleasent things, the movie takes you on and on but you just can't get off.Ernest plays a charactor that is rare in a sincere form- an American with backbone combined with wisdom willing to take action.Unfortunately, his daughter is (forboding of what is coming down the pipeline?) jelly spined and totally with out active morals. She is content to sit back and judge everyone, breakdown emotionally, and then ignore the situation completely by running off with yet another man/support system. She couldn't be blamed, that is until her father sought to teach her an important life lesson, and... she still didn't get it. Yes, Ernest's charactor goes too far and his daughter practices inconclusive thinking. So the charactors are way too extreme- it turns into a situation that just wouldn't happen with real people. This can be explained that the movie was made in the seventies, when a lot of movies tried to "preach at us" (as opposed to today's movies which now "show us a lesson"). They seem to try to make Ernest's charactor into some kind of bizarre villian, when to me he comes off as an okay guy living in a bizarre world thrown into a situation he never made in the first place.Everyone says the acting is poor- I don't think so, maybe just a little over played, but I think it is fine for this genre.I give this movie a 10 because I have watched 15 movies this week that have come out recently and this one is better than all of them, and:It's watchable.You want to see how everything comes out.No where in the movie does someone say "your other left".It doesn't try to explain much, just lays it out there.