The Hi-Line loves 'Winter'

Residents of Havre and the Hi-Line filed into Cottonwood Cinema 4 to see “Winter in the Blood” Sunday.

The people of the Hi-Line have been waiting for the Havre showing for months since the movie was finished and started showing in some theaters across the country and overseas.

The 1 and 4 p.m. Sunday showings were sold out and the 7 and 9:30 p.m. were fairly filled despite some of them being scheduled during the Super Bowl.

Julie King Kulbeck drove from Harlem to see the film and said she thought the movie was good. She said she plans to see it again at the Wednesday Harlem showing.

“All the scenery you could recognize and the stores — it was very exciting,” Kulbeck said. She said she recognized many of the places the film was shot.

Janea and Shania Parker, sisters from from Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, were about to see the movie at 4 p.m. Sunday and said they have been waiting for this day.

“I’m very excited to see it,” Janea Parker said. “We’ve been waiting since we heard it was filmed in Havre.”

“I’m excited to see all the places we recognize,” Shania Parker said.

The Parkers said they did not know about the story but had heard a lot about the author of the book the film is based on, James Welch, in a literature class they took in Missoula about Montana authors.

Teri Farmer, after the 9:30 p.m. Sunday showing, said the film made her feel speechless and emotional.

“When I saw the trailer, I was confused by the silence of it,” Farmer said. “But, I was completely taken in … . Because I grew up here, it means a lot to me. I just loved it.”

Farmer said that during her time in Havre, she has had friends who shared similar issues with Virgil First Raise, whose life the film unfolds.

The 4 and 7 p.m. showings today are already sold out and and the 9:30 showing is filling quickly, Cottonwood Cinema 4 employees said.

Those with ticket stubs can meet directors Alex and Andrew Smith at the Old Post Office at 6:30 tonight.