How Green Was My Valley (1941 movie)- Review

Directed by: John Ford
Released: 1941
Country: United States

Main cast: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp, Roddy McDowall, Sara Allgood, John Loder, Patric Knowles, Richard Fraser, Evan S. Evans, James Monks, Rhys Williams, Ethel Griffies, Martin Lamont, Irving Pichel

Genres: Drama

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review

By the time John Ford's ''How Green Was My Valley'' ended, I was almost in tears. I was stunned by the power, the emotional depth of this movie. First of all, it was a beautifully presented film, and secondly, the emotional contents in this film are simply marvelous.

The film's quality is enhanced by the wonderful performances by the cast, the screenplay, the direction by John Ford, and so many more brilliant aspects, including the cinematography and the music. 

The film is narrated by Huw Morgan, who has decided to leave the valley he had grown up. The valley which was once so beautiful, so green, so peaceful and happy. Now, the valley has become blackened by the coal mines.

Through flashback we see Huw's childhood. We see the beautiful and peaceful times in the valley, when there was unity between people, when, amidst the natural beauty, there was social beauty and peace.

Huw had been the youngest in a family of seven children: six boys and a girl. Huw's elder brothers used to work at the coal mines along with their father. Huw used to stay at home, while his affectionate mother and his beautiful sister Ahgharad used to take care of their home.

Happy times don't last forever. Everything is changed when the wages of the workers are made lower. But the family can manage with this. But Huw's older brothers don't agree to this. Their father  believes remaining peaceful is the best option, but the older brothers argue with their father and leave home.

This is followed by great sorrows, little joys and happiness, defeats, losses, bit of smile and tears, heartbreak, failed love, deaths- and we slowly see the family being torn apart, the unity between people being destroyed, and the valley losing it's beauty.

To put it simply, it is not just the tale of childhood of Huw. It is about what he saw around his as a child. Of the great sorrows and heartbreaks he saw around him, of what he experienced around him as a child. And we lament, as the good old days are gone for Huw.

Roddy McDowall, playing Huw, is fascinating his role. He brought his character to life. But I think the most praiseworthy performance is given by Sara Allgood, who plays Huw's mother. Next, brilliant performances are given Maureen O'Hara (as Ahgharad), Anna Lee (as Ivor's wife, Bronwyn), Walter Pidgeon (as Mr Gruffyd), and Donald Crisp (as Gwilym, Huw's father). The others give considerable support.

The black-and-white cinematography is wonderful. Next, the background music is generally beautiful. The screenplay is excellent.

''How Green Was My Valley'' is an emotionally gripping and touching film and it is definitely a classic. By the word ''green'' in it's title, I don't think it just means the color green. Rather, I think ''green'' also here symbolizes beauty and peace. It can be seen as a movie that explores how the beauty of the green valley is destroyed, how the social and natural peace was destroyed. We see how the greenness, along with the social and natural peace, is destroyed. How green the valley was once.

4.5 out of 5!