Sometimes a Great Notion (1971)

Synopsis: A family of ununionized lumberjacks gets pressure to stop their activities during a strike but refuse to, thus garnering the hostility of the town people.
Appraisal: An analysis of individualism, from a 1964 novel by Ken Kesey, and arguably a companion piece to Kesey's Someone Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, though I haven't read the novels, just seen the films. SAGN deals with extreme individualism, the kind that won't back off even at the prospect of starving an entire city. The film is not condescending in the least; it's hard to know where the film's sympathies lie. The film is not completely successful, perhaps; for example, the episode where Hank and his brothers save the drifiting saboteurs has a somewhat abrupt ending and seems to be there to add another layer to this family's character, implying that they are individualistic but wouldn't refuse a helping hand even to their enemies. Somehow it is implied that, in a traditional sense, they are morally superior to the unionized workers, who resort to dangerous sabotage to achieve their goals. (And now come some spoilers!) One thing that baffled me was that Joby's wife, the more adjusted woman in the house, leaves after Joby dies. This doesn't seem right. Also, Leland's allegiance to his brother in the final act is subject to some discussion. Maybe it was a reaction to the union's methods. Maybe he saw his own mother and Hank in a new light after a commentary made by Hank (he was 14, she was 30), and he wanted to make up for his previous unjust assessment of his half-brother. This is more a question-raising film than an answer-providing one.
Rating: 62