The story of a woman fighting for her children, for her land, for the greatest dream there is...the future.


Of the three "mortgage on the farm" films of 1984 (Country and The River were the other two), Places in the Heart is the only one set during the Depression. After her husband is killed, Sally Field is forced to take over the debt-ridden Texas family farm herself. Though slightly embittered by the fact that a black man was responsible for her husband's death, Field accepts the help of another African-American, Danny Glover. She is also given aid and comfort by her blind boarder, John Malkovich. Despite almost insurmountable odds, Field manages to bring in the cotton crop and to hold her farm and family together. Throughout the film, director Robert Benton stresses the importance of solidarity in facing down disaster, underlining this point with a remarkable surrealistic finale, in which the "live" members of the cast are seen singing a hymn with the characters who have "died" in the course of the film. Places in the Heart won Sally Field her second Academy Award.


Places in the Heart is a 1984 drama film that tells the story of a Texas widow who tries to keep her farm together with the help of a blind white man and a black man during the Great Depression. It stars Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, John Malkovich, Danny Glover, and Terry O'Quinn.
The film was written and directed by Robert Benton and filmed in Waxahachie, near Dallas, Texas.


It won Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Field) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. It was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Malkovich), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Crouse), Best Costume Design, Best Director, and Best Picture.
In 1985, when Sally Field reached the lectern to accept her second Oscar (the first was for Norma Rae), she uttered the memorable (and much-mocked) line, "I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!" It is often misremembered as, "You like me—you really like me!"
At the 35th Berlin International Film Festival, Robert Benton won the Silver Bear for Best Director.


Release date: September 21, 1984


Distrib: Tristar


Boxoffice: $34,901,614 2013: $82,802,700