Squinting into a sun blotted out by dust

Rating: Null/10 (11 May 2008)

"The Grapes of Wrath" (1940): Author John Steinbeck approved this film version of his book, despite changes that needed to be made for censors, etc.. Set AND made in the Depression of the late 1930's, starting in Oklahoma, we follow a destitute and harassed family as they attempt to reach "the land of milk and honey" (California) for jobs. Their journey is the stuff of well, humans and their stories. The photography and lighting is some of the finest of all time. The story, unabashedly pro-Common Man - self-governing, self-policing, self-motivating  Unionizing  Socializing, if you will - is pure Great Depression. The hero isn't a god  God is within each of us  we are simply in a position to choose heroism. This is a large, sweeping, gritty, shadowy, rough film with tight lips and squinted eyes, bearing the pain and continuing on, stopping to mourn but not to abandon. It has its speeches, and they are glorious. The horizons are wide, though the moment is short. It is full of symbolism and yet remains personal. Only the most hardened or inexperienced or uneducated would see this film as somehow less than what comes from Hollywood now. And, for the first time, I am suggesting you see the DVD version with the running commentary by two experts, one on John Ford, one on John Steinbeck. THIS is worthwhile.