Review of How Green Was My Valley (1941) by Jamie T — 27 Mar 2010

This is a film that lives with the infamy of having beaten Citizen Kane (considered one of the greatest films ever made) and The Maltese Falcon at the 1942 Oscars. Except for the rather underwhelming ending, this is a great movie, and many of themes are surprisingly pertinent -- like when the conservative characters accuse the coal miners who wanted to form a union of promoting "socialism".

Though the film is shot in a Welsh setting, it is also a brilliant social commentary on typical societies that grow up around coal mines the world over. In these days when we commonly use the phrase "carbon footprint", it is worthwhile remembering how little life has changed for the men, women and children who mine the carbon (coal) that powers most of the world.