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Matewan

Matewan (1987)

August. 28,1987
|
7.9
|
PG-13
| Drama History

Filmed in the coal country of West Virginia, "Matewan" celebrates labor organizing in the context of a 1920s work stoppage. Union organizer, Joe Kenehan, a scab named "Few Clothes" Johnson and a sympathetic mayor and police chief heroically fight the power represented by a coal company and Matewan's vested interests so that justice and workers' rights need not take a back seat to squalid working conditions, exploitation and the bottom line.

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Vashirdfel
1987/08/28

Simply A Masterpiece

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FeistyUpper
1987/08/29

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

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BelSports
1987/08/30

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

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filippaberry84
1987/08/31

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

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michael_the_nermal
1987/09/01

I understand "Matewan" is a historical fiction drama that uses actual events as a way to convey a fictional story, but it nonetheless evokes a real time in American history that is seldom ever discussed in the popular media, mostly because the issues of that time speak ill of American technological and social evolution rather than anything that one could feel patriotic about. Artistic works that discuss the clashes between labor and capital during the Gilded and Progressive Eras will undoubtedly include a discussion of radical political beliefs that those with conservative tastes in 2012 may find offensive or un-American. Nevertheless, the clashes between workers and the owners of companies are an important part of American history, certainly as much as the Civil War, World War II, or the tumults of the 1960s, and it is important for writers and filmmakers to mention them now and again. In this sense, a quality movie like "Matewan" is an exception rather than the rule with regards to period dramas related to important events in American history. The sensitive and poignant way by which John Sayles tells the story of West Virginia coal miners and a labor strike which culminated in bloodshed make the audience engaged in the plot and, by extension, the real life events described in the movie.The film itself is seldom boring, and the protagonist characters (Chris Cooper, Mary McDonnell, and Will Oldham) are sympathetically credibly portrayed. The harsh realities of the West Virigina miners of the 1910s and 1920s is portrayed in such a graphic and grim manner that the audience has an actual stake in their struggle as it portrayed in the film. The antagonist characters--the thugs hired by the Baldwin Felts Detective Agency to put down the strike by any means necessary--are less interestingly portrayed: they are evil to the core, with nothing in their portrayal that would make them redeemable or three-dimensional. Some viewers will not like that the antagonists are not treated as realistic persons, but rather as monsters. There are few shades of grey in Sayles' movie: the miners are the good guys, and the mine owners and their hired thugs are the bad guys. Notwithstanding the dual morality depicted in the movie, the film is stark in its realism, and there is little to take away from it that will leave the audience with a warm feeling. While "Matewan" ultimately comes across as a polemic film with an obvious message about the struggles of the working man, it is still a powerful and well-made drama that viewers will find involving. The real Battle of Matewan and the West Virginia Miners' Strike of the early 1920s are obscure events in American history, but are nevertheless important as part of the greater trend of social unrest inherent in America's Industrial Revolution. John Sayles shows courage by making a film about a seldom-mentioned and uncomfortable part of America's history. Highly recommended.

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tieman64
1987/09/02

"An artist, in some cases, may preserve the relatively naive ideas of his youth long after his erstwhile comrades have departed the scene.[…]The difficulty, however, is that Sayles has firmly held onto the outlook of what was, to a considerable extent, an intellectually shallow generation, one that never came to terms with the most complicated historical problems. His views are not difficult to make out. He retains his sympathy for the ordinary person, his dislike and mistrust of large corporations, his feeling for the labour movement, his support for national struggles against American interests and its agents abroad. These ideas, however, may prove inadequate." - David Walsh"Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime." - AristotleJohn Sayles has always been one of the least radical of supposedly "radical filmmakers". Whilst overtly political artists like Pontecorvo, Gavras, Loach, Godard, Rosselini, Pasolini, Visconti, Romero, Renoir etc etc (many of whom regarded themselves as socialists/communists/Marxists) pushed themselves further with each film - aesthetically and thematically - Sayles has sealed himself into a very simplistic world-view. One that is largely unchanging, and one which he spends his career shoehorning all his characters into.That said, "Matewan" is one of Sayles' best films precisely because of its simplicity. The film tells the story of an early effort to unionise West Virginian coalfields, and takes place in an isolated town where coal miners are bullied by various mining corporations and their gun-toting thugs. The miners won't stand for this, of course, and led by Joe Kenehan, a communist sympathising pacifist ("You work, they don't. That's all you got to know about the enemy!"), they form trade unions, a militia and unite against their masters."Matewan" works well on at least three levels. On the first, you have a Robert Altman inspired tapestry, Sayles introducing numerous characters and then sketching their criss-crossing relationships. Sayles often does this, of course, but unlike Altman's best films, Salyes' characters are largely walking mouthpieces, caricatures out of the World Socialist Textbook. And so you have the black proletariat leader and the white proletariat leader, both of whom learn that race is less a divider than class. Then you have the cruel corporate owners, the evil gun-hands, the preacher boy who oscillates between violent and non-violent resistance, the sheriff sympathetic to the striking miners, the "communist agitator" who teaches these American fools to stand up to their whip-masters, and the various civilians, wives and mothers caught in the middle.On the second level, you have an interesting sub-theme involving the way in which the secular world of organised labour intersects with religion and the church. The meeting point between each branch is our narrator, a young boy called Danny Radnor, who works as a miner and fully supports the strike and the Union, but also promotes his evangelical faith by becoming a preacher. What the film argues, though, is that socialism is, and should be, a departure from the teachings of 19th century Christianity. Labor unions, though resemblant of the church in some ways, are secular, worldly, modernist, non-conformist, and distinctly non-religious in their very existence, whilst the church (whose codes are mirrored to that of the coal company) promotes conformity, traditionalism, and subservience. This is all unsurprising; the Church has always been reactionary, sided against the working class, and supported fascism, dictators, monarchs and the ruling class over any even vaguely egalitarian movement. The Church, in a sense, has thus always been anti-Christ.What the film then does is ask whether the non-violence of the church and the "turn the other cheek" methodology of Kenehan, an atheist and communist agitator, both of whom refuse to be goaded into violence, can have any effect. The film provides no answers, both pacifism and violent recourse seen to be unsatisfactory, both with equally severe repercussions.On the third level, "Matewan" functions well as a Western. And so Sayles offers an assortment of gunfights, show-downs, tense stand offs and uneasy eyeballing, all of which help make "Matewan" the most tense and exciting film in Sayles' filmography. As the Western genre generally relies upon one-dimensional villains and clearcut conflicts, Sayles' stereotypes also feel at home. And while most of Sayles' films offer a kind of false, superficial scope, "Matewan" is somewhat mythic, with an almost parable-like quality. "Matewan's" cast is mostly excellent, particularly Sayles regulars Chris Cooper (a quiet commie), David Strathairm (an endearing sheriff), Kevin Tighe (a scenery chewing villain), Mary McDonnell (brilliant in her quieter moments) and some cool hillbilly mountain men (sadly appearing in only one scene). In terms of flaws, "Matewan's" first act is badly paced, some of its dialogue is far too obvious, as a critique of capitalism it's now lightweight, and Sayles never fully investigates the mechanics of the coal corporations, who heavily dominated the official culture and politics of the region. Today, global capitalism has all but killed unions. The development of a global job market, the appearance of billion of new workers and the readiness of millions more to work at any cost has robbed unions of their once-powerful position. And as the unions created the middle class, with them gone, the middle class begins to fade too. The response of artists like Sayles to such pressures has always been to nostalgically pine for a vague form of 20th century "socialism", a stance which isn't necessarily "wrong", but is nevertheless now too simplistic a post-capitalist alternative. Humans, and artists, need to think harder, envision deeper and plan more rigorously. Commies with six-shooters and 20th century slogans aren't going to emancipate a self-regulated, self-policed global workforce in possession of HD TVs and zillion dollar military hardware. Not a chance in hell.8/10 – For a more substantial take on this material, seek Pontecorvo, Loach, early Pasolini and Martin Ritt's "The Molly Maguires", which tells virtually the same story. Worth one viewing.

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poppy_420
1987/09/03

I found the movie to be very good. The sole problem is that there is so much information to convey in a short period of time, there had to be some glossing over of the events that transpired.Being a big issue for the region at the time, the movie captured the feel of the plight of the area so well. If you are looking for more information and in greater depth than the 127 minutes of the film allows, try and find the book "Night Comes to the Cumberlands" by Harry M Caudhill which deals with the plight of the miners.Having the miners paid by company scrip and the shops (owned by the companies) taking scrip for their goods only was such a cunning move.

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flnyira
1987/09/04

A number of movies have been made over the years dealing with the history of labor relations in this country, but so few have the power and honesty of "Matewan". This movie takes place at a time and place in our history when men literally spilled their blood and lost their lives to fight for the right to unionize, especially in the coal mining industry, where miners were often paid in company script instead of money which could only be used to purchase overpriced goods in company owned stores and the company held the title on their rented homes, so they could evict any "troublemaker" at any time for any reason. This movie shows what happens when men decide not to accept their fate anymore, and the extent the companies would go to keep the men working as little better than indentured servants, including murder. A sad, brutal period in our history, magnificently acted and beautifully filmed. A little known, but must-see film.

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