This is a almost flawless adaption to one of my favourite Steinbeck classic novel The Grapes of Wrath.John Ford created an excellent piece of work that captures a very special period of American history when so many people and families lived under the shroud of the Great Depression .Lots of farmers in the county suffered from the effects of the economic dislocation and left the farms for the industrial job opportunities in big cities.The same goes characters of the Joad family in this flim.Despite the deep affection of their own land which they had lived on for several generations, they had to run off of their land in Oklahoma due to the never-ending frustrating drought and poverty.
Perhaps it's not easy to imagine a time when basic needs were such a struggle to obtain from today's perspective,whick made it simply not impossible to feel deep sympathy for every hardship the Joad families encountered.During the migration,they refuse to lose every small opportunity to make a living .Even after all of the suffering the Joad family goes through, the clinging hand of hope still firmly hangs on. We are reminded of their strength and working-class principles in the scenes where Ma Joad says to her husband, who loses hope, that we are the people, and when Tom Joad says that he sees himself as apart of one collective soul of humanity and that he feels connected to everyone who gets a bum rap by society.
The movie wouldn't be the same without the extraordinary performances of the cast.Henry Fonda comes across perfectly as Tom Joad and this is definitely one of his finest work of acting which put him into a legend in his later career.Jane darwell's role as Ma Joad made her win the Best Supporting Actress of 1940 Oscar.She captures the tough-as-nails dignity that the character has in the novel.Her remarkable and heartbreaking performance moved me to tears when I watched this film for the first time.Besides Henry and Jane, the other supporting cast also did an exceptional job. They succeed in making us believe these are real people, not just incomplete figures that revolve around the main characters.
The Grapes of Wrath was undoubtedly one of John Ford's finest pictures and this movie consolidated Ford as a master of his craft.His stark and shockingly realistic portrayal of a poor family in the Great Depression and dust bowl remains one of the most moving films in history .
Gregg Toland's spectacular cinematography should also take credit for this beautiful visual composition.Although there were some scenes that it was easy to tell that there was a painted backdrop, there are so many frames that could stand as works of photographic art, which make this film shedssuch a belief with beauty and charm
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