The Good Earth

Starring: Paul Muni, Luise Rainer, Walter Connolly, Tilly Losch, Charley Grapewin, Jessie Ralph, Soo Young, Keye Luke, Ching Wah Lee
Directed by: Sidney Franklin, Victor Fleming (uncredited), Gustav Machaty (uncredited)
Rating: Passed
Genre: Drama
1937

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two Chinese farmers (Paul Muni, Luise Rainer) struggle to build a life for themselves and their family.

Review:

Tim: I have to say, I was quite impressed with Sidney Franklin's The Good Earth. The film is fairly epic (at 2 hours, 18 minutes) and it tells this sprawling story about Chinese farmers working to better their lives. We see much of that life unfold on screen, their fortunes and misfortunes along the way. The movie has some beautiful moments, some thought provoking ones, and many entertaining ones. The film won 2 Academy Awards. There's a lot to like here. While I would stop short of calling this a great film, it's one that certainly deserves some praise.

Now, watching this film in the 2020s like I did does create some uncomfortable moments. Most vividly is the clear whitewashing of these characters. Paul Muni and Luise Rainer (and most of the supporting cast) are not Chinese. This is certainly problematic and unfortunate, but it's also a product of the 1930s. I certainly didn't appreciate this, but within the historical context, I understand why these decisions were made. Still, I can lament that more actual Chinese actors weren't involved in the cast. I would certainly have liked the movie a lot more. I also have to acknowledge that this is a movie written by three white writers, which is based on a play by two white playwrights, based on the experiences of a white woman in China. I'm not criticizing Pearl S. Buck as the original author, nor those adapting the work. The 1930s were a different time. However, I do think we need to acknowledge that aspect of cultural misalignment, which undoubtedly influences the final product. I don't think this is a very authentic movie about China. Now, that being said, I'm unaware of the intentions of any of those creatives. Like I said, I really liked the movie. I simply want to acknowledge some of the issues with seeing this movie from a more modern lens.

All that aside, the film tells a powerful story and it does allow us to connect with and sympathize with these Chinese farmers. I loved this aspect of the film. While there's a lot of problematic issues with how things were presented, this is still an American production that celebrates Chinese citizens. You can take issue with many things, but the heart of the intent was good. The story itself mostly works, especially early on. There's something so powerful about watching these people struggle against the elements, society, the government, events beyond their control. They are struggling mightily to build a life in a world that must have seen determined to thwart their every attempt. There's a lot to be said about hard work and the desire to improve one's station in life. Those are universal themes and I imagine many Americans could sympathize with these Chinese characters' plight. As the film goes on and our characters achieve some level of notoriety and success, the movie loses some of its momentum. There was absolutely a stretch of the film that felt like watching rich people and their problems, which was less effective than the first half of the movie. This is redeemed by the film's impressive conclusion, but there are definitely some aspects of the story that drag.

I mostly liked the cast. I'm a big fan of Paul Muni and often marvel at how he transforms himself to disappear into a role. That certainly happens here. Muni is obviously not Chinese and that's painfully obvious. However, I was quite impressed by the lengths he went to in order to inhabit this character. I've seen him give better performances, but that doesn't take anything away from his effective work here. Luise Rainer was really strong, too. I do feel like she got a lot of credit for how she looked, the lengths she went to change her demeanor to fit this character. Her wide-eyed, loopy look did on occasion get on my nerves. However, she had some truly effective moments as well. Critics obviously agreed, as Rainer won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her work here. She was the first performer to ever win back-to-back Oscars for a Leading role. Rainer is a great actress and while I don't know if this was her best performance, it's undoubtedly impressive. The rest of the cast is good. Walter Connolly is perhaps the standout as the hanger-on Uncle. I'm not sure I loved anyone else in the cast, although I didn't have many complaints. They mostly work well. Still, Muni and Rainer get the majority of the screen time and they're both quite exceptional in their work.

The other Academy Award the film won was for Best Cinematography. This is a deserved win- the visuals, the look of the film, it all contributes to this beautiful, epic quality to the story. The movie isn't filmed in China, but we're transported there through this movie. The movie was nominated for Best Picture, Best Film Editing, and Best Director, all worthy nominations.

Now, I mentioned the movie hits a bit of a lull past the halfway point. I started to feel my interest wane a bit. This is reversed by the film's wonderful conclusion. Filming a locust invasion was obviously not easy, but the film pulls it off. It's a wonderful conclusion- a revisiting of the natural disasters that befall those who work on the land. However, this time, through education and science, our characters aren't completely at the mercy of the elements. It's a stirring conclusion, made more brilliant by the amazing cinematography and work of the cast. The locust swarm is incredible to see and helps deliver one of the strongest endings I've seen in recent years.

The Good Earth is a movie well worth checking out. I enjoyed it quite a bit. While I believe it might fall just shy of greatness, it's absolutely a worthy movie and one that holds up in many ways, even 80+ years later.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5


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