Miserable. That one word pretty much summarizes 1941's winner How Green Was My Valley. The film (based on a novel) is set in a Welsh mining town that loses its greenness in both the literal and figurative sense. Gone are the lush hillsides, and gone is the simplicity of life. The entire story is a flashback through the memories of Huw, who in the film is the youngest boy in a family of six sons and one daughter. The family suffers loss through mining disasters and moving to America. Although the daughter (played by Maureen O'Hara) marries well, she does not marry happily. She is in love with the minister, who nobly refuses to marry her because he doesn't want to see her live in poverty. Instead, she has a posh life she hates. How noble indeed.
I intended to just watch half of the film tonight, but I decided that if I stopped it, I wouldn't finish it. So I finished it. At just under two hours, it shouldn't have been that bad, but in ways, it was because just when I thought things couldn't get worse, they did.
The actual film was quite stunning to watch. The long shots capture how the coal mine shapes the town, and the actors' facials expressions are captured in close shots. The actors were convincing in their roles. It's just that the story itself was lacking for me. I wouldn't watch this one again, and I definitely don't recommend it.
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