Movie Review: How Green Was My Valley

How Green Was My Valley is a 1941 movie that was nominated for 10 Oscars and won 5 of them. One of those victories was for Best Picture where it beat out such movies as Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon, Sergeant York, and Suspicion. The film is about the Morgan family who work the coal mines in Wales. The story is occasionally narrated by the youngest son Huw (Roddy McDowall) -- perhaps a decade or two after the events of the movie. The movie starts off with a positive tone. The father and working age brothers are all employed at the mines. Wages are collected by the mother for the betterment of the family as a whole. And the eldest son, Ivor (Patric Knowles) gets married to Bronwyn (Anna Lee). At the same time, there appears to be the start of a romance between the sister, Angharad (Maureen O'Hara), and the new preacher, Mr. Gruffydd (Walter Pidgeon). 

That happiness doesn't last long. The mine owner cuts the wages due to what sounds like a recession. The workers go on strike. The father, Gwilym Morgan (Donald Crisp), opposes the strike and is ostracized by the community. The mother, Beth (Sara Allgood), and Huw fall into a frozen stream and suffer significant health consequences due to the exposure to the freezing temperatures. Angharad is courted by the mine owner's son and they marry -- even though she is still in love with the preacher. Ivor dies in a coal mining accident. Two of the other sons eventually get laid off from the mine and move to America. And as the movie ends, the father also dies in the mines.

Yep, a series of depressing events. There really doesn't feel like there is any hope in the movie. Be ready to be depressed after say 30 minutes into this movie.

The movie seems to have some major disconnects for me. For example, the movie starts out with Huw stating that his father believed that money was meant to be spent and not saved. Yet, we know that the family saved their money. When the two sons decided to head to America, there was plenty of money to send them on their way as there was a small family chest where savings were put aside (they obviously didn't trust the banking system).

Another example of a disconnect comes when the two brothers are laid off. By this point in time, Angharad has married the owner's son. Now it is possible that the owner has died. The movie seems to imply that at some point during this movie that he has passed away. Yet, would you really lay off the in-laws of the mine owner? It seems like a rather risky move to take by management. 

The Huw storyline is most interesting when compared to the 1999 movie October Sky. October Sky also is about a coal mining community; in that movie the coal mines were in West Virginia. In both movies, the sons are very intelligent. And yet, very different choices and decisions are made by both the fathers and sons. In How Green Was My Valley, the father realizes that his son is far more intelligent than the rest of the family and sends him off to a prestigious school -- a school that requires the son to walk a far distance. In October Sky, the father wants his son to work the coal mines. In How Green Was My Valley, the son decides in the end to work the coals mines over the protestations of the father. In October Sky, the son continues to pursue his educational dreams (even after some setbacks). To me, it really seems like a stupid decision by Huw knowing the dangers that come with mine work and the strong encouragement from his father to continue his education beyond high school. This goes along with the depressing nature of the movie where you get this sense that the family is trapped in this type of life (even though the two brothers do head off to America and one can hope a better life, but maybe they also just work the coal mines of West Virginia). Perhaps after the death of his father, Huw does decide to continue his education. I have my doubts that a person with just a high school education could do such a thoughtful job of narration.

Here's a moment that really stood out for me in terms of cinematography: at the end of Angharad's wedding, she is walking down from the church to the carriage. There is a beautiful scene where her wedding veil is swept high above her by the wind. While watching this gorgeous shot, I knew this had to be a reason why this movie won that specific Oscar award.