'' Heartland '' is a 1979 American film , directed by Richard Pearce , starring Rip Torn and Conchata Ferrell . The film is a stark depiction of early homestead life in the American West . It is based on a memoir by Elinore Pruitt Stewart , titled '' Letters of a Woman Homesteader '' ( 1914 ) . 1910 Wyoming : a widow and her seven-year old daughter travel by train to two great unknowns-a strange land and life in a remote frontier with a man they never met . Set in southwestern Wyoming , where Stewart homesteaded , the movie was filmed in central Montana . The soundtrack features New Orleans clarinetist George Lewis playing the hymn , " What a Friend We Have in Jesus . " In 1980 the film was featured as a " Buried Treasure " ( a film that received little attention during its initial run ) by film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel on an episode of the TV show , '' Sneak Previews , '' ( the latter put the film as one of the best films of 1981 ) In 1980 , the film shared the Golden Bear award for Best Film at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival
30th Berlin International Film Festival
30th Berlin International Film Festival
Heartland (film)