Absolutely brilliant

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Harlan County War is excellent fiction about a labor conflict, although based on true events. The fight of the coal miners in Harlan County has become illustrious, among others due to the documentary Harlan County USA by director Kopple. We live in the mid-seventies, and the coal miners want to organize. The corporation does not accept the union as a personnel representative and refuses to sign a contract. The miners live in company houses under primitive conditions, and the facilities such as the local grocery are company property. A union organizer of the UMW is sent to the village, settles in a motel and tries to mobilize the people. THowever, the main character is Ruby, a miners wife, who more or less against her will gets drawn into the strike activities. Her father is also a miner, and still remembers the bloody conflicts from decades earlier. He is a convinced union man, just as Ruby's husband. The father suffers from the disease black lung, caused by the uncontrolled coal dust in the mines. Eventually he dies from suffocation. The strikers form a picket line, and the corporation starts to hire scabs. Both sides soon develop an aggressive and violent attitude. Shots are fired at the picketers, the houses of scabs are besmeared and cars are blown up. The local police is present, but barely controls the developments. These scenes are based on true events, but apparently dramatized and adjusted to the story line. The climax is probably a stand out, when large groups of picketers and scabs, both heavily armed, confront each other. A shootout is only just averted. Finally after a year or so the miners win their contract. It is sometimes unclear whether the violence is authentic, or a setup of the miners in order to lure the media. Anyway, in case of doubt the film takes sides with the miners, which adds to its emotional credibility. Subjectivity seems justified in our modern society, where the message in the media is dominated by the advertisers (which are not you and me). A further quality of the film is the insight into the organizing committee, which appears to be run by a tiny group of activists (mainly the organizer and Ruby), even though their support group is much larger. The acting of Hunter is fresh and convincing. I highly recommend Harlan County War. Having said that, there is a wide variety of competing films. Let me just name Germinal (France), Subterra (Chile), Salt of the Earth (the primogenitor of this type of films, and banned during the age of the McCarthy terror, when American democracy suffered violent blows. Salt of the Earth is still rarely mentioned, and apparently its reputation has not yet been completely rehabilitated. It would be good Americanism to have a look), Matewan, and Harlan County USA. You might also be interested in the film Sonnensucher, about uranium miners. It belongs to the wave of Aufbau (build up) films, that appeared in the Soviet zone of Germany, and shows the problems resulting from nationalization - including sabotage.

I take issue with those who have said this is not an accurate depiction of Appalachian coal country, though I will admit it's probably more representative of parts of West Virginia than Kentucky. I spent 14 years in WV, my wife is from WV and her father grew up in a coal camp.My wife's grandmother didn't have running water or indoor plumbing until the '70's (heck members of *my* family didn't have indoor plumbing until the late '60's and I grew up in PA!).I have known many people in WV who sound very much like Holly Hunter in this film, and even dated a woman from the coalfields of southern WV with a similar accent.The geography also reminds me of WV (though admittedly it wasn't filmed there).All-in-all an excellent film, and it's hard to believe it represents events as recent as the '70's! We've (until recently) come a long way and we need films like this to remind us how bad things recently were and could soon be again (or worse re: last year's Utah mine disaster).

Big management grinds poor workers with boot heel followed by rebellion and unionization. There's nothing new in Showtime's telling of this old story about hollow dwelling coal miners in Harlan County, KY. Nonetheless, Hunter bails out this well made but potentially monotonous film with her powerful performance as a spunky and dauntless coal miner's wife. A must see for Hunter fans.

I am biased about Holly Hunter, having enjoyed all her movies (excluding A Life Less Ordinary) right back to Broadcast News and Harlan County War is a fine addition to her record.In her first TV movie appearance for 7 years, she is the main focus of the gripping account of a particularly nasty miners' strike in Eastern Kentucky in the early 1970s and her portrayal of Ruby Kincaid has the ring of authenticity, extraordinary focus and real passion I've come to expect.Definite echoes of Roe vs. Wade for me - not just because that too was set in the 1970s but the whole feel of the movies is similar - both have very strong scripts and the acting of everyone involved is spot on. It was also interesting to contrast the approach taken with the UK movie " Brassed Off " which so successfully highlighted the many wounds (few yet healed totally) resulting from the 1984 miners strike in England - also a very bitter dispute.There are many wonderful moments in Harlan County - the scenes with Ruby and her black lung infected dad - evoking the poignant scenes between daughter and dad in Home For The Holidays - the strong rapport between Ruby and husband, and the gradual awareness of how strongly Ruby feels about not giving in to the mining company. For anyone who, like me, is an admirer of Holly Hunter's work this film is a must and long after watching it, images of the dispute lingered on in my mind. As usual, the other question I kept asking myself : is there a better character actor or actress than Hunter alive today ? Easy answer to that one - no.