Review of How Green Was My Valley

Two-minutes into this film and you have already fallen in love. When the film ends, the feeling is akin to waving your bestest friend goodbye at the train station, with the tears and handkerchiefs and all. It is timeless, one of the many films which constantly changes the batteries in its watch. It never once ages, nomadder how many times you watch it, it just never does. It doesn't feel like you're watching a film but rather listening to a family member, or a wise person recounting his story to you. You can feel the love, anger, sadness, happiness and whatnot and it actually makes you part of it, as if you're but one of its extras.

However, the film is today widely unappreciated by youngsters solely on the grounds that it beat Citizen Kane to the Best Picture Award back in 1942. Oh you balled-up teenagers, doesn't it clearly show which film was more appreciated back then? Anyway, I don't know why do you make a big issue out of this when you yourself yell about that Academy's don't prove the worth of a film. Citizen Kane did not win; does that make it a less valuable, or less important, film? Well, I don't see you shouting otherwise. So... there! How Green Was My Valley is highly recommended and a nice, warm, family-friendly film doesn't get any better than this.

John Ford was one of those greatest directors of yesteryears who was often competed against and used to secure a fairly good position, in the top 5 probably. Granted, he is not in my top 5 but remains one of my favourites, mostly by through this film. The directing is warm and smooth, like someone laying a blanket over you when you're sleeping, or adjusting your pillow for a better ease of rest. He knew his way around the story and showed us not only what he wanted to see but things we wouldn't have seen had another director taken over. The great directing, coupled up with the enchanting music and perfect narrating by Irving Pichel make up 80% of the success of the movie.

Performance-wise, the remaining 20%, every major cast were great. Take a look at Sarah Allgood and Donald Crisp, who also won the Academy Award. Their performances are convincing, easy to watch and easy to relate to + their chemistry is quite-impeccable. Loved every second of their screentime. Then we have Roddy McDowell in one of his well-known screen-roles, as Huw Morgan. A great performance, in fact one of the best I've seen. Following them is Walter Pidgeon, one of the best old cinema actors, as Mr. Gruffydd. It may not be a performance worthy of a standing ovation, but it is worth noticing all the same.

In conclusion, How Green Was My Valley is a very pleasing and heart-warming film that will make you wanna re-visit it again just to experience that feeling all over again. A must-watch!

9.5/10