The vast majority of fans who have commented on "Salt of the Earth" have given the film a high rating and unusually enthusiastic plaudits. I'm going to go out on a limb and offer a quite different view. The reason for my iconoclasm is easy to explain.
"Salt of the Earth" is, simply, a very bad movie.
One cannot deny that the issues raised in the film are worthy of cinematic treatment. However, in this case the good guys and the bad guys are hopeless caricatures. I'm somewhat surprised that the evil landowners are not wearing stovepipe black hats while twisting long, waxed moustaches in their fat fingers as they mock the poor but righteous workers. Come on! This is cartoon stuff.
It is not unusual in politics for each side to spread totally false and slanderous visions of their opponents. But that's just the trouble with "Salt of the Earth. ' It's political propaganda, not honest cinema. Ultimately, by portraying one side as good, fine, and noble, and the other as the essence of evil, one fails to convince. It's not a good strategy to insult the intelligence of the viewer. That, unfortunately, is just what this film does, no matter how well intentioned it may have been.
The makers of this film were struggling against the foolish Hollywood Blacklist. One can understand their bitterness and anger. It's too bad, however, that they could not have fashioned a less stereotyped script, one that portrayed all characters as real people and not stock props out of the left-wing playbook. But, one must also remember that there were plenty on the left in those days who were still apologizing for the Stalinist regime. Perhaps I am expecting too much from people caught up in the bitter political battle of those days. Certainly Hollywood turned out its share of films that stereotyped the left.
Finally, I find the level of acting in "Salt of the Earth" to be weak even when compared with the typical Hollywood B movie of the 1940s and early 1950s.
As I said, mine appears to be a minority opinion with respect to this particular film. I will stand by that opinion nonetheless.
"Salt of the Earth" is, simply, a very bad movie.
One cannot deny that the issues raised in the film are worthy of cinematic treatment. However, in this case the good guys and the bad guys are hopeless caricatures. I'm somewhat surprised that the evil landowners are not wearing stovepipe black hats while twisting long, waxed moustaches in their fat fingers as they mock the poor but righteous workers. Come on! This is cartoon stuff.
It is not unusual in politics for each side to spread totally false and slanderous visions of their opponents. But that's just the trouble with "Salt of the Earth. ' It's political propaganda, not honest cinema. Ultimately, by portraying one side as good, fine, and noble, and the other as the essence of evil, one fails to convince. It's not a good strategy to insult the intelligence of the viewer. That, unfortunately, is just what this film does, no matter how well intentioned it may have been.
The makers of this film were struggling against the foolish Hollywood Blacklist. One can understand their bitterness and anger. It's too bad, however, that they could not have fashioned a less stereotyped script, one that portrayed all characters as real people and not stock props out of the left-wing playbook. But, one must also remember that there were plenty on the left in those days who were still apologizing for the Stalinist regime. Perhaps I am expecting too much from people caught up in the bitter political battle of those days. Certainly Hollywood turned out its share of films that stereotyped the left.
Finally, I find the level of acting in "Salt of the Earth" to be weak even when compared with the typical Hollywood B movie of the 1940s and early 1950s.
As I said, mine appears to be a minority opinion with respect to this particular film. I will stand by that opinion nonetheless.