Sob a Luz das Estrelas

I have to begin this review by saying I saw the U.S. edit of the movie. According to wikipedia, the unfortunate intro and outro are not in the English version, and there's an extra scene at the end.

Once you get past the useless introductory speech, this movie begins quite well, portraying a grim world and immediately giving one a feel for the plight of the miners.

For me, a difficulty came with the introduction of Margaret Lockwood's character. I admit there are selfish, empty headed people in the world, but they make for poor film characters. Fortunately it's a fairly small role, but it felt unnecessary to have her at all. She represents a melodramatic streak that unfortunately runs through the movie and lessens the overall impact.

While some parts were problematic, other parts are terrific, such as the mother's stoic attitude as her son goes off to college in which you see her feelings only when no one is looking. And the inevitable disaster is impressively handled.

I also didn't find Michael Redgrave complete believable. I'm not convinced he could develop such an upperclass accent no matter how hard he studied at the local schools.

While worth seeing, this could have been a better movie with a little less melodrama.

The main storyline is concerned with workers, capitalists and academic thinkers (resp. 'down' and 'stars' ?). And it might become much more relevant again soon. What's the use of a college education in times of recession and strikes? Like Jack Palance said in le Mepris (1963, Godard) 'wise men don't humiliate others with their lesser abilities....'. 'On The Waterfront' was way better on this economic subject, but as far as I'm concerned that was merely because of its director and protagonist. Others might emphasize it is American and has more suspense, which is true.

The dialogues sound kind of flat or monotonous, but the story is absolutely entertaining enough and the cinematography by Mutz Greenbaum (Thunder Rock) is really fine. He especially knows his way with contrast and composition apparently. Carol Reed (Odd Man Out, Fallen Idol, Third Man) gently develops the story and the points he (and writer Alec Coppel, who also wrote Vertigo and Obsession) wants to make. The movie as a whole is a quite moralistic and a bit too sincere, but again the directing and the cinematography more than make up. At last but not least, Michael Redgrave (Thunder Rock, Mr. Arkadin, the Innocents) puts forward a great deal of realism, enforcing A. J. Cronin's points. A point is that different social classes should have more respect for each other because they are complements, not substitutes. Another point is that it is probably a personal story (Cronin's ?). 8/10

I recently purchased this outstanding movie on video. Michael Redgrave has always been one of the finest actors of his generation and his performance in this film only serves to strenghten my opinion. I was very surprised by the way a film of this era, concentrated so much on the social and economic deprivation of the mining community in Great Britan, surely one of the largest workforce of the time. The struggle for better conditions and the respect of their employers as workers and human beings is perhaps the crux of this story but the underlying sub-plots of human greed and subterfuge made sure my interest never waned. It is to me most memorable as a story of the ordinary man, struggling through adversity, always with dignity and self-respect. Despite the often bleak surroudings and the fact that it is also shot in B&W to maximize this atmosphere, it never depressed me and left me feeling good,long after the last of the credits had rolled.

Michael Redgrave is the local boy done good, when he wins a scholarship to go to university to train to be a teacher. Unfortunately, he has fallen in love with the rather fickle "Jenny" (Margaret Lockwood) who has a bit of a venal streak. Curtailing his studies, he returns to live with her in his boyhood town intent on improving the lot of his community - but he is soon disillusioned when he sees his wife still keen on her flashy old flame "Joe" (Emlyn Williams) and that his elderly father looks set to have to work the mines for years to come... He accidentally discovers that the mine is unsafe, and determines to bring this to the attention of the council to avert disaster, but will they listen? Carol Reed allows this story plenty of room to breathe. Though not complex, we can see the characterisations develop as the story seems to head, unstoppably, towards disaster in quite a compelling fashion. Redgrave, Williams and Allan Jeayes as mine owner "Barras" work well to create a solid, if a bit dryly told, story of greed and exploitation with some superbly claustrophobic mining photography to add authenticity.

The story in this feature is pretty interesting, but even a description of the story by itself would probably not communicate how thoughtful and atmospheric the movie is. It also has some particularly compelling stretches that are hard to forget afterward. Director Carol Reed shows good insight into the characters and the story, the cast make the characters believable and worth caring about, and the technical aspects help you to feel almost part of the action.

Michael Redgrave stars as a young idealist, determined to get an education so that he can improve conditions in the mining town where he lives. Redgrave's performance quietly brings out a lot about his character, as he learns about reality while fighting for the truth. Emlyn Williams is also effective as Redgrave's boyhood friend, who takes an entirely different, amoral approach to the same situation. Margaret Lockwood, well-cast as the rather vain young woman who captivates both of them, adds an important dimension. Several of the supporting cast members also do a good job in limited screen time.

The highlight is the extended rescue sequence in the second half, and it is very effectively done. But one of the reasons that it works so well is that it was prepared by such a solid foundation, establishing the characters and issues carefully so that, when the crisis hits, everything takes on more meaning.

Many of the topics touched upon by the movie are still of significance in themselves, but even beyond that, it creates a good deal of worthwhile drama about society and human nature in general.