Harlan County War (2000)

I'll keep this short. Martin Ritt's "Norma Rae" was a more original, less stereotyped study of exploited Appalachian workers and their tribulations, and so was Barbara Koppel's documentary of this confrontation between union organizers and the evil company they labor for.The acting isn't bad. Holly Hunter is good, as she usually is, and Stellan Skarsgard is fine as always. He's a remarkably relaxed performer, whether the role calls for villainy ("Ronin") or sympathetic understanding, as in "Good Will Hunting". Hunter's Southern accent may sound overdrawn to some, but thirty-five years ago I imagine it fit the template well enough.It's the story that sags. There are good people and evil people and none of them are particularly complex. That's more or less how Koppel's documentary rolled along too, but it's nevertheless not how life on the ground is structured. The conventions followed here are those of a soap opera, except that instead of a deceitful and vicious husband, we have a nefarious corporation.It doesn't matter that the film was shot in Canada. That has little to do with its quality. I only wish the script had given the audience a bit more to chew on, just a little food for thought, a ham hock or two, rather than Pablum.

I take issue with those who have said this is not an accurate depiction of Appalachian coal country, though I will admit it's probably more representative of parts of West Virginia than Kentucky. I spent 14 years in WV, my wife is from WV and her father grew up in a coal camp.My wife's grandmother didn't have running water or indoor plumbing until the '70's (heck members of *my* family didn't have indoor plumbing until the late '60's and I grew up in PA!).I have known many people in WV who sound very much like Holly Hunter in this film, and even dated a woman from the coalfields of southern WV with a similar accent.The geography also reminds me of WV (though admittedly it wasn't filmed there).All-in-all an excellent film, and it's hard to believe it represents events as recent as the '70's! We've (until recently) come a long way and we need films like this to remind us how bad things recently were and could soon be again (or worse re: last year's Utah mine disaster).

As the granddaughter of a coal miner who was also a union organizer, and having been born and brought up in Appalachia, I was highly interested in the theme of this film. What a huge disappointment. Holly Hunter grunts and twangs like a deranged Daisy Mae, almost unintelligibly at times. Her accent is not at all mountain, but cartoonish. One could expect much more from an Academy Award winner.Also, it might come as a huge shock to some, but people in Kentucky and West Virginia have had electricity, running water, and indoor facilities for at least 50 years now. Not only that, but--hold onto your seat, now--most women there don't go around dressed like a Dorothea Lange photograph (and didn't in 1973, either!); nor do the children all go barefoot; nor does everyone live in rusted-out shacks.For a much more realistic picture of mine families, try "October Sky". The story is set earlier, in the 50's; but you can see that even then, people had more semblance of civilization that the dismal one-step-up-from-HeeHaw that "Harlan County War" portrays.A strange irony that this film, supposedly sympathetic to the plight of families suffering because of corporate greed, was shot in British Columbia during the film crew strike. Shame on them. Shame on me, too, for wasting money and irreplaceable time on this letdown.

This is a powerful movie with superbly crafted characters. It's beautifully shot and captures the gritty realism of Appalachia, its hardships, its humanity, its humour. Holly Hunter has created an endearing character. But so are all the other principles. No stereotypes here but honest portraits of real working class people. This is one of the best labour movies I've ever seen.