This is a sometimes difficult-to-watch documentary about the 1930s in the western panhandle of Oklahoma and the area immediately around it, the center of what came to be called the Dust Bowl. Like Burns' other documentaries, at its center is a well-researched narrative that moves in chronological order, delivered wonderfully by his narrator, Peter Cayote, with the perfect voice for an American story.
But also like at least some of Burns' other documentaries, what makes this hit you in the gut, what makes a real impression on you, is seeing and hearing those who lived through this terrible era recall it while trying to keep their emotions in check. As one of them says late in the second part, some survived because they were strong, but others did not. You see that strength in these people. They are all in their 80s or 90s, I would guess, and some appear to be rather frail physically. But they are clearly very strong, yet very modest, individuals.
At one moment in the narrative, we are told about a photographer who was sent out by the federal government to capture the suffering of these people and their plight, so that other Americans would understand the need to help them. The photograph, a woman, was told to make sure to capture their faces and their eyes. That's what Burns does in shooting these witnesses almost 80 years later, and the power of the result is amazing.
That, of course, is the appeal of at least some of Burns' documentaries. They tell us things about America and Americans that we would like to believe are true about ourselves, at least when we are at our very best.
Did all of these witnesses lead perfect lives, with never an unkind word or thought ? Maybe, maybe not. I don't know, and I don't care. But they give us something to strive for, because they tell us that, at least in some of us, at some times, there is a remarkable resilience.