A Family Movie

Rating: 8/10 (8 December 2009)

Had heard a lot about John Ford (4 time Oscar Winner) - The revolutionary director of westerns and movies with a social message who inspired a generation of film-makers. This was his first movie I watched and hell it would surely not be his last one. The Grapes of Wrath is a story of a joint family living in America (State of Oklahoma) at the times of the 'Great Depression'. Homeless and out of work, they had to move to the extreme west (State of California) to have a chance of earning livelihood and survival. They move from Okhlahoma to California in a vehicle that is old enough to be kept in the museum. Their journey to California itself is a highlight of the movie. They venture through different towns and states, get the sometimes good and sometimes bad reception of local people of every state, Hell,loose two members of their family in the journey (The Journey in Little Miss Sunshine is inspired from this movie). Living peacefully all these years in their Oklahoma Farm, suddenly they are faced with the materialistic facet of human nature. Some days they go without eating, somedays without sleep, Looking here and there for a job, they are ready to do absolutely anything. In all this trauma and pain, the only thing that remains constant is the human emotion of love and belonging. As a family, they are emotionally richer than the most richest man around. The clear message given in this movie above all is the importance of a family and the attachment to it is the only constant thing in life.
Performances are absolutely top notch. Henry Fonda gives a great all-round performance which can be considered one of his best ever. From the family, the one that impresses the most is the family Matriarch played by Jane Darwell who is responsible actually for binding the family. Actresses in the black and white era normally over-dramatized or in short over-acted especially in movies as these. But her's is a very natural performance. Overall, this movie may not appeal to people who don't have the basic human emotions of love, belonging, grief etc. I am not of that kind and thus I thoroughly liked the movie.
Rating : 8/10