So grün war mein Tal (1941)

So grün war mein Tal: Directed by John Ford. With Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp. At the turn of the century in a Welsh mining village, the Morgans, he stern, she gentle, raise coal-mining sons and hope their youngest will find a better life.

“The story is told by an adult who remembers his childhood:Roddy McDowall gives a very sensitive performance in this part,heu0026#39;s simply the best actor of a topflight cast (to think that nowadays McDowall is remembered by the young generations mainly for his part of Cornelius the ape)All the scenes which involve the boy are simply wonderful,particularly the one with the daffodils (it u0026#39;d have been shot in color!),and the one with his father in his arms at the end.John Ford ,as usual , is a master when it comes to depict a small community whou0026#39;s got to stand together to survive.And he does not spare us the tragedies ,the bigotry ,the slander,but he adds humor,joie de vivre (the men,turning their nose on tea and wanting beer).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut sometimes it seems too good to be true:the bossu0026#39;s offspring marrying a mineru0026#39;s daughter,even when sheu0026#39;s a beauty like Maureen Ou0026#39;Hara?The boss asking the poor fatheru0026#39;s permission?We are far from Emile Zolau0026#39;s u0026quot;Germinalu0026quot; :both stories happen about during the same era ,both with the minersu0026#39; life both are radically different.Zolau0026#39;s world is a bleak,desperate world ,his depiction of the familiesu0026#39; houses and meals (when there is food) and the pictures of Fordu0026#39;s movie are worlds apart.But the biggest difference is the omnipresence of the Lordu0026#39;s will:in u0026quot;how greenu0026quot; the minister is a cool young handsome man (Pidgeon),in u0026quot;Germinalu0026quot; ,the priestu0026#39;s only a silhouette,but a selfish cruel one,unconcerned to manu0026#39;s plight:Zolau0026#39;s miners do not put their trust in a God anymore .u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWales and the east of France ,were they that much different?You can only say they were novels and movies,and reality is probably somewhere between them.”