Saw this film when it came out, and the depiction of Kentucky life in the 40's, during WW II was spot on. This could have been the story of my family. They too left Kentucky in the 40's for a better life in Michigan. My dad worked in the coal mines and my mom was caring for her mom who was dying of cancer, and raising 3 children. She too went to work in the factory, Rosie the riveter. Work was dirty and paid little. As so many, they left Kentucky and moved to Michigan where the auto factories paid much more than coal mines. Housing sprouted up to provide a decent living condition for all the workers. They enjoyed running water in the house and electricity for the first time.
I was in awe of how accurately the film displayed their life. The actors did a phenomenal job, and it is the only film I am aware of that depicts that time so accurately. My brother and two sisters were little kids when they moved "up North to Deetriot", I arrived in 1950 and couldn't have experienced a more different upbringing. We would go back every summer to visit our down South relatives. As I became a teenager, I balked at going back down every summer. My cousins wanted me to tell them all about living up North. To them I was someone who could tell them about life outside the Hollers. It was two different worlds.
It was a hard life but they made a better life for their family, at the expense of leaving everything and everyone they knew. Calling them the greatest generation is well deserved.
I was in awe of how accurately the film displayed their life. The actors did a phenomenal job, and it is the only film I am aware of that depicts that time so accurately. My brother and two sisters were little kids when they moved "up North to Deetriot", I arrived in 1950 and couldn't have experienced a more different upbringing. We would go back every summer to visit our down South relatives. As I became a teenager, I balked at going back down every summer. My cousins wanted me to tell them all about living up North. To them I was someone who could tell them about life outside the Hollers. It was two different worlds.
It was a hard life but they made a better life for their family, at the expense of leaving everything and everyone they knew. Calling them the greatest generation is well deserved.