Fargo

Poster Origin :United States
Poster Size :US 1 Sheet / 27 x 40"
Poster Year :1996
Poster Version :First Release
Film Origin :United States
Film Director :Joel & Ethan Coen
Film Year :1996

Country of OriginEnquire

An unusual image for the time it was released, when the trend was for generic photographic posters with little or no thematic purpose. The whole design save for the credits is created to look like a Nordic embroidery, describing the bleak winter landscape and the Scandinavian culture of the Minnesota backdrop.

The embroidery theme continues with the tagline “a homespun murder story” referencing both the hand-made tapestry and this being an independent film. The term evokes the warmth and homeliness of the small-town communities, ‘Minnesota Nice’ and hygge, and the stark contrast of the terrible events that intrude.

The embroidery is unfinished with a bare patch of burlap; for the police the picture isn’t clear, and the case must be sewn up before it unravels. The needle has used up most of its thread to suggest that something, time or luck perhaps, is running out, and a couple of ‘loose ends’ are also visible, telling us to expect a tightly-woven tale with multiple threads, not all of which will be neatly tied up.