Review of How Green Was My Valley (1941) by Rogelio T — 27 Feb 2010

I'm glad this movie got a helluva lot better in the last half of it. The first half just about bored me to tears. There was a whole lot preachy, "Leave It To Beaver", safety-sealed bologna for awhile.

But gradually the story thickened with finally some sign of discord and sense of direction coming in the second half, and ended up leaving me feeling it was actually fairly worthwhile. Now obviously, this film has to be looked at through the eyes of the time it was released.

America's well aware, especially John Ford, of the colossal warfare brewing around the world. So really the country doesn't need anything less than something effectively optimist and home-grown feeling such as this film.

But, in my personal opinion, that shouldn't hold anyone back from pushing the envelope in the arts. Perhaps I've been conditioned to feel that way though because of the large generation gap between this film and it's time period and today.

Or perhaps the subject matter is to blame for the happy 50's smalltown family vibe it gives off, I mean, it was adapted from a book of the same title. Anyways, I'll quit rambling and let you form your own opinion.

Not too shabby I suppose.