Going into the movie, I had a very vague notion of what to expect, plot wise. There's dust, depression, hardship, and some farmers. Other than that (and the 7 Oscar nominations and 2 wins from the DVD case) I really didn't know what the next two hours would hold. I was eager to educate myself, (yes, reading the book is something I plan to do) and come away with some appreciation of Steinbeck's work.
So, after the movie I can honestly say that it was not what I had expected. I don't think that I had a clear mental picture I had in my head for the film, but for whatever reason, I think that I had pictured it taking place in the 1800's - even though I knew that it was a depression era story. That is to say that it was much more modern than I had expected. The movie itself was very well done and holds up well over time. A lot of movies from the 40's and 50's end up coming across as very corny: corny acting with very dated dialogue. The Grapes of Wrath, however avoided that, for the most part.
The story was very good - the hardships of the Joad family as they are forced, by a combination of bad weather and farming modernization, to leave their Oklahoma sharecropped farm in search of work and a better life in California. As I learned a bit later, Oklahoma had the highest rate of tenant farmers and, when the system began to fall apart, there was a large scale migration of people to California looking for work. The movie follows the family as they travel, detailing the hardships on the road as well as the ones they face in California. Desperate for work, they fall victim to a farmer's strikebreaking scheme, as well as face distrust and incivility in the many migrant camps which they stay in during their travels.
The movie had many poignant scenes, most revolving around human dignity, or the loss thereof. The diner where Pa buys bread; the treatment and lack of information at the strike; the shot woman at the transient camp; when they reach the government camp in California and are treated fairly.
I found it to be a very thought provoking movie. While it was a story, in every sense of the word, I also saw it as a historical piece, a quasi-documentary made by people who had lived through and could remember the Great Depression. I don't know that a film made in modern times would be able to capture some of the same feelings that a film made so close to the source time period could. It brought to mind the unity that America experienced after 9/11. It's a shame that it takes disasters like these to bring the country together as one.
