Review of Mrs. Miniver (1942) by Joe L — 04 Feb 2009

A great, classic oscar-winner, with all the tenets of other melodramatic wartime oscar faves. this film is essentially a truncated version of 'gone with the wind,' set in england. it must have hit its audience especially hard because it begins like a screwball romantic comedy whose only conflict is some minor class warfare and domestic banter.

but once the war literally invades the home of our hero, mrs. miniver, the dawning horror takes over that life will never be the same again for this family. would have been a much stronger film without the desperate propaganda at the finish (which even includes a title asking the audience to buy war bonds).

shares themes with 'la grande illusion,' which was also about the aristocracy coming to understand that they would not be unaffected by war.