Cast:
Featuring Lois Scott, Basil Collins, Nimrod Workman, John L. Lewis (UMW President), Carl Horn (Duke Power Company President), Norman Yarborough (Eastover Mining Company President), Logan Patterson (Chief Negotiator), Houston Elmore (UMW Organizer), Phil Sparks (UMW Staff), John Corcoran (Consolidated Coal President), John O'Leary (Former Director of Bureau of Mines), Dr. Donald Rasmussen (Black Lung Clinic of West Virginia), Dr. Hawley Wells Jr, Tony Boyle (UMW President), Joseph Yablonski, Chip Yablonski, Ken Yablonksi, and Arnold Miller. Directed and Produced by Barbara Kopple.
Review:
"It also sharpened my determination to continue in my profession as a filmmaker. And it’s more than a profession. It’s a lifelong quest to be able to tell stories about people who you respect, and who are your heroes."
When it comes to cinéma vérité, Barbara Kopple has managed to cultivate a lengthy career in documenting people in the moment. The native New Yorker grew up in a co-op vegetable farm, and she would study psychology at Northeastern University before shifting her interest to film, having seen protests during college relating to the Vietnam War (she has described herself as political first, then as a filmmaker). She decided to attend the School of Visual Arts, and it was there that she met David and Albert Maysles, as they needed help with a film. They proved her biggest influence, one who treated her as an equal as part of a filmmaking "family". She would do work for them in the camera department for Salesman (1969) and Gimme Shelter (1970). Influenced by filmmakers such as the Maysles brothers and D.A. Pennebaker, she wanted to make intimate films that would watch their subject (much as one might see in something like Don't Look Back (1967), for example). She was part of the Winterfilm Collective that helped to direct Winter Soldier (1972), alongside several filmmakers (such as David Grubin) that served as her first feature effort. It was a portrayal of soldiers returning from the Vietnam War with regards to viewing/participating in war crimes that referred to the investigation of the same name that took place in Detroit, Michigan (the investigation, like the film, would generally not see as much attention outside Detroit, although obviously time has been different for each). She has continued on with filmmaking for nearly a half-century, revolving from documentaries of current issues to portraits of artists to episodes in television.
One can tell the time it took by the fact that one of the title-cards talk about industrial action in 1973 (involving Harlan, naturally). Keep in mind, in the time it took from Kopple's initial idea to do a film (with $12,000 initially raised) about the fight to get control of the UMW from its tough boss Tony Boyle...who ended up going to prison after having hired a hitman to kill his competition in 1969. Of course, the story really goes back to the 1930s, within previous strife between locals and bosses in "Bloody" Harlan that practically operated towns like that one. The film touches upon events outside its own area as well, talking about the Farmington Mine and the disaster that occurred on November 20, 1968 that had dozens of miners perish in the small towns of West Virginia. Kopple worked on this film for four years, which included living with subjects on-and-off for that time in order to gain trust, and it was made on a budget of $300,000 that had to be scrounged by Kopple in odd jobs whenever in New York (she would also serve as the sound person for this film); Kopple and the crew would experience their share of danger during filming (a scene is shown of them being attacked by goons in the night time, remember), but the presence of the crew has been thought of as a form of security by the strikers (because who is going to commit a crime on camera?). It still seems prevalent now for the town, since there was a standoff between miners and a coal train in 2019 over disputed pay.
So, what we have here is a portrayal of a struggle in community with labor. There are few interviews and no voiceovers to be found here, as we have a film that does not flinch at what it wants to depict about trouble in a small town. It goes where it wants to go in direct cinema that be comprised of a few sentences: a strike that lasted 13 months. A time capsule of a time long ago in Kentucky that might as well be anywhere with a town built on industry and hard work. A line of work that requires sacrifice to one's mind and body that could prove dangerous. A confrontation between scabs and workers that lead to danger all around. Division all around in terms of leadership that make for contentious moments everywhere. Galvanizing support for their fellow folks to the picket line, complete with someone pulling a gun from their clothes. You get a feel for these folks because you can see a little bit of oneself in the pursuit of a better life, really. Of course, the real sticking part is the songs that are sung in the film, as they capture the culture of the people that live there, most notably with writer/singers Hazel Dickens, Merle Travis, and David Morris (the song "Which Side Are You On?" was a noted song about the town since 1931 that has had numerous cover renditions). In other words, one finds themselves paying attention to the sounds they hear as close as they can, such as hearing about Lois Scott (who would live up to the age of 74) and her attempts to rally the women to support their miners while brandishing a weapon to move for protection. It makes for an interesting 103 minutes to sit through, racked with the gamut in moods that range from tension to persistence that all of us can see in our fundamental being. It is as direct as it can be without losing the story. At any rate, there are no easy endings when it comes to the fight for a proper life in the line of work, particularly when it comes to meetings and broken promises and the ever growing hand of wants and needs that reflect now more than ever after over 40 years since the release of the film. One will take the side they want to take when it comes to this particular vision, but one can not resist its perspective with heart to spare. When it comes to documentaries, this Academy Award winner manages to tell a worthwhile story that connects with its audience in its sights and sounds that make it a prime effort for its field and its director.
Next Time: The first feature-length effort from Penelope Spheeris with The Decline of Western Civilization (1981).
Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.
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