Hoosiers (1986) gets Midwestern autumn exactly right, both the beauty of the landscape and the nostalgic harkening to a wholesome, mythic era that has slipped into the past. I love this film’s quiet opening, from its first image of headlights on a highway marking the predawn beginnings of the main character’s journey toward a fresh start to its close with the bell ringing to signal the start of classes at the high school in the tiny town of Hickory, Indiana, in 1951.

Would you like new posts delivered to your inbox? To subscribe, click here.