How Green Was My Valley

It was a small village somewhere in South Wales. Lost in a beautiful green valley and surrounded by mountains, it seemed like an ideal place for the formation of the personality of man, his views the world of nature. In lived there were wonderful people — honest, respectable, hard-working and proud. They lived in the carefree his small, cozy little world to until the valley opened the first coal mine — it and marked the beginning of a transformation in the life of the village.

Hugh Morgan was youngest son of seven children in the family of the pious miner. His big brothers, like and the father, too, worked for mine for every day came up with work with black, sooty faces. Little Hugh secretly they were jealous, he wanted to be like them to be an honest man as they, because the brothers were for him an example for others to follow. It has strong traditional Welsh family where a loving and emotional mother, torn between her husband and children, engaged in farming, their care and attention it covers every corner stone of the family home — she was the guardian of the values of archaic culture; strict, but just a father who wants to give their children the best in including to educate at least the youngest of them — Hugh. He — the last of the sons, was the first of the Morgans who went to school who could break into people to become a respected man. But Hugh not have done, preferring to work on mine, along with my brothers and father. Perhaps it was his first a conscious choice, influenced entire life.

Life went on as usual until the mine is not began to lay off people, this trouble touched the family of Hugh. Discontent in the town grew, and with him was growing opposition in the family of Morgan. The fundamental question of strike split the seemingly indivisible family on two parts: on one side was the workaholic head of the family, who believed that sabotage nor to lead; to another — the sons, who wanted a better life and respect the owners of the mine. The split was a deep young, Hugh again I had to choose where with whom to be. He left with parents. But his world it's not was so cozy and cloudless as before.

Mine brought in the city of confusion, it is, in fact, was the symbol of the industrial revolution in a single valley. It slowly and gradually destroyed the traditional way of life of the people, and to place them and leave a clear and is tangible, simple and understandable to the child, Hugh. Its valley is already was not so green as before, it covered with a layer of soot from coal mines. Everything has there was only white and black, true and untrue, good and bad. The smoke enveloping the village outshone the Sun, so for protagonist his only sister, the Sun disappeared behind the dark clouds, giving way to gloomy doubts. Family home in the end was empty, the older brothers left Wales and something inside of Hugh is also empty. Something's gone.

Years later, when your family have no, or it is quite different when you feel stock your love is fading out, you can just reminisce about the past, how much love and warmth inherent in you in all people with birth, as a lot of good happened in your life, and how beautiful was your green valley before. And because it still you. In your memory. She always you. You just need to remember.

Remember.

1941. As as long it happened! So long, not hard to believe... Actor Donald crisp, who plays the father of the family, — almost the peer of the Block, and film — the same age as the great Patriotic war. "But "...valley" about eternal — you say. — And there is no eternal age, does not belong to any era, and certainly not behind in the past." However... it is a sense surprised me. You'll understand it? Eternal — last! Watched a movie Ford and understand, with all his heart that I see norm, i.e., virtually the only acceptable and correct variant of human relations, actions, ideals of things... But this pain cut the thought so no! Yeah and l when?..

How we had all need to step forward (or backward?), to leave in side, elusive as Paradise, party, this green valley — a generalized image of a true existence, true life (green — this is primarily alive, alive). It components — like the Tolstoyan dream of  the"ant brotherhood" — family, work, conscience, faith, love, patriotism, honesty, purity, dignity, simplicity, humanity, mutual support, collegiality...

In contemporary art, in popular culture so many sub-humans, and clear concealed contempt for man, of distrust or indifference to him. And virtually no people as a body-soul... a Shame, but this film looks today like an unfulfilled promise that world to remain integral, normal, of God, cherished, promised, family...

1941. Not know!!! Where this clean as glass, energy, symmetry rules? Vigorous, HEALTHY kinofestivalya? Cheerful, full of spiritual and mental forces, with black-and-white cannott distinguishes between idols and ideals?.. Idols and ideals in religion, education, government, politics, the family, public and private life...

Wrote in last year an article about the category of nationality. Cried the usual tears about same: where people, alive? The people where? Whether video art — p p C t o l th d and? Here as here, for example, hardworking, simple miners, mothers, fathers conservative, obedient and respectful children living in the wisdom of simplicity, in beautiful clarity of the traditions, foundations, faith? In nezamestnanosti knowledge of how should be most...

Don't know how you, I very often it seems (maybe it case in my neo-family?), what words such as "native", "family-oriented", "nepotism", it is still more retro than this movie. Obsolete to the pain, the unknown, unbearably complicated and understanding, to make life. By the way, nepotism in the first in the old a — it's love, love for family life, impeccable commitment to its kind (and the people as a result). Father — the head of the house, the mother — shower...

1941. Strange, Yes same? A film that celebrates family, human relationship, brotherhood, motherhood, fatherhood, appeared in the Second world war, the book, where he was filmed (the eponymous novel by Richard Llewellyn), too. Imagine, humanity is gradually sinking into the nightmare, losing support; bursting at the seams, torn in shreds connection between people. Gas chambers, Auschwitz of all stripes, genocide, fascism, Nazism, racism, militarism, warlordism... the World is in a dead end, a nightmare, the dregs, the absurd non-kinship. And then... something to the extent of open, slender, clean as a dove drinking from untroubled stream. The purity and directness of the norm! Moreover, no varnish, "pridumannoe" (as in our socialist realism in those days) is not feel, while because the senses your movie is coming to formulation — no more, no less — ideas of national (and not accidentally at all in 1990, it was chosen for preservation in the National registry of films in the Library of Congress).

Not couching reality in the pink, eschewing resentimientos, excessive pathos, pathos arid morals, Ford creates not just a movie — a human document, in which literally tangible "Holy anxiety" for peace and human responsibility, conscience. And the point here is, of course, not only the strong sense of homeland (Wales or America — does not matter) or as a strong sense of family. Serpasil of the film (including 1941) can be read as: "Life is worthy of that it to believe. Not indefinitely the triumph of evil... Believe in the triumph of humanity. It will be!".

But this life-affirming mantra about belief in life and the person joins in the soul of a desperate sadness. The film ends with the death of Mr Gwilym Morgan, and the voice — this is the voice of Hugh, FOREVER say goodbye to green valley, looking to the given to the tears of a lover in the near future. The voice of a man whose eternal — in the past.

Well, as here believing that "around the past there is no neither fences nor the fence"? That "if you want, you can go back and take that will appeal"?

Often I think of my parents. Carefree times, when they are nearby. Support in the initiatives, albeit not always approve of them. We should not forget our people, my hometown, all those who are affected our Outlook, or otherwise raised us. If we cross this line memory, nothing will save us from the tempting, wrapped in a fur coat fashion that destroys our body of misanthropy, which time trying to instill in us once offended the creators, which in his time probably just doesn't filed a hand, not gave kind words way, left to twilight, growing anger at the world its inhabitants. If any circumstance we are required to be human, and not devils, lost all sense of good and evil. Do not frown, smile to a friend; not turn, help; not run inside your fear, make others brave. Hardly we were born just to hate. Our the meaning is not to destroy, in the building.

Numerous family Morgan tries to survive in a small Welsh town where men have long work for the mine, and women and children doing household chores and daily awaiting the return of their work about gates of their houses. Here there is a conservative set: the rule of the father, all revered the Church, keep the inviolable traditions and rules. About all of us tells the youngest son of family — sensual, deeply understanding the boy. Still green it valley, yet he listens to the wisdom of the vicar — Mr. Griffith, still he is happy meeting with cute sister Angharad, listens to the advice of his father Gwilym, and devoted mother, independent and faithful woman, still in love with Bronwyn — the wife of the eldest brother, Ivor... To him tears, hear the hysterical howling mine and the viewer's heart aches, along with a boy on their loved ones remembering emerge the voices of half-forgotten school friends, first teacher, doctors, legs you put after a serious illness, postmen walking on hometown; remember all that becomes the shower... easy! It is not mere sentimentality, it is a cleansing feeling, exactly what all used to call "catharsis". As well imbued with the life of this fictional family that I did not immediately realize — are you looking at the Morgans, but thoughts far away in the valley, from each we do have the valley of memories, still full of colors, full of happiness, full of confidence in the future. I understand that the boy and have you himself walking through the green valley...

Impossible not to cry, knowing her past in this family. It is not that they are the miners, just all happiness is the same for any of us: our childhood, our relatives, friends and acquaintances, it is our town. our journey through the Paradise valley... always lost in its special properties. For Paradise — this past we have grown which left, with which parted themselves not knowing. But the film tells of the all forces saying that we must remain human at all times. May God leaves us with hell. But we are stronger, we still believe, we still live, we won't be hated by the world and gnawing each other's throats. Not we were born.

Constantly hard to be in love, in humanity, sigh Mike Lee, Fatih akin, Danny the harness, but John Ford its amazing, hell, the brilliant picture rejects scraps of misanthropy, painful beating in her heart with a wooden stake, although it is against depression are just... memories. While we are able to remember and feel remember, we will to be human. There is nothing to hide, there here bastards-liposuction, known code, Michael Haneke. Maybe your "White ribbon" is addressed to the mind, appealing to take up the analysis of events, but "How green was my valley," John Ford turns to the heart would be interested in, beats if it is not a flint if it?

We do not going to hate. We learn to forgive.