Salt of the Earth

1954
7.4| 1h34m| en
Details

At New Mexico's Empire Zinc mine, Mexican-American workers protest the unsafe work conditions and unequal wages compared to their Anglo counterparts. Ramon Quintero helps organize the strike, but he is shown to be a hypocrite by treating his pregnant wife, Esperanza, with a similar unfairness. When an injunction stops the men from protesting, however, the gender roles are reversed, and women find themselves on the picket lines while the men stay at home.

Director

Producted By

Intl Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers

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Also starring Rosaura Revueltas

Also starring Juan Chacón

Reviews

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
imdbcom-03846 I'm so glad I saw this film! It shows the power of solidarity - people of all backgrounds, gender, and whatever other category might otherwise be used to separate them, uniting together to gain the power and dignity they deserve as human beings. It took some of them a while to learn, but the common struggle tears down walls. Rise up, and push everyone else up with you!
tomgillespie2002 The propagation of fear of the "other", or the unknown, is a fervent device used by governments for the control of the masses (the population). In the 1940's and 1950's in the west (particularly the United States - and to a lesser extent the UK), the common object of fear was the spread of Communism. In 1947, this paranoia about the infiltration of socialist ideologies into US politics, culminated in the organisation of HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee), which began a witch hunt for any persons involving themselves (allegedly) in Communist politics and ideas. Propaganda was in full swing by 1954, and the hunt was extended into the arts, particularly Hollywood - with its "Harbouring" of socialism - which led to the imprisonment of "The Hollywood Ten" which included the writers and filmmakers involved in the making of Salt of the Earth - which was inevitably blacklisted.With a largely non-professional cast (only five were professionals), this neo-realist style film tells the story - based on real events - of a workers strike for equality of pay and conditions for American- Mexicans working in the Delaware Zinc mines in New Mexico. Told from the perspective of Esperanza Quintero (Rosaura Revueltas - one of the five actual actors), the film opens with a domestic scene and her narration, as she outlines their social conditions, and the small community. Her husband, Ramon (incredibly heartfelt performance by non-professional, Juan Chacon), signifies the "traditional" male, whose displays a reluctance for his wife to involve herself with nothing but the upkeep of the home, and the raising of their children (not a particularly revelatory experience in the 1950's).After the failure of the men - bound by union restrictions - to successfully picket the mine, the women of the village take their places, creating a barrier to the entrance. This destabilises the workers union to begin with, and fundamentally disrupts the home life of Ramon and Esperanza - whose conventional roles are reversed, creating an emasculated man-of-the-house. The reactions of the mining management/owners leads to the arrest of all the women, which creates an even greater sense of solidarity between the women, and eventually (once they realise the importance of this strike) the men.Within the context of this film, it is hard to believe in this day that this film (which perpetuates socialist ideas - Communist theories) was regarded as dangerous to the point of being blacklisted. However, what this part of history highlights is that these political ideas are simply dangerous to a hegemony of market power. That is, the fear of Communism (or socialism) is simply that it would - in theory - give equal rights and fair wages to the workers of any company or corporation. Of course, if socialism did spread, this would mean the obliteration of the free market economy that has so far simply created a greater divide of rich and poor in the West, and ultimately led to such incredible greed, and intrinsically creating the banking crisis of 2008.With a strong cast of actors and locals, this film is both enlightening and emotionally mature. It is itself a piece of pure propaganda, but it skillfully emphasises the socialist ideal of equality. The film also raises some interesting feminist questions - a movement that didn't really become part of popular culture until the late '60's and '70's - and gravitates towards alternative social roles for women. It was of course ignored by the Hollywood system, but eventually found audiences within film schools and workers unions. A common reaction was astounding: The Hollywood Reporter (a trade magazine) made a bold and frivolous statement claiming that the film was made under the direct orders of the Kremlin. It is an incredibly important piece of social history, that is also successful as an interesting and entertaining slice of cinema.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
gaijin88 My interest in this movie was due to the negative reaction that it received when it was first released. In the interest of full disclosure, I am not in favor of compulsory union membership. I strongly believe that union membership should be entirely voluntary, and members should be able to keep the union from using their dues for political causes that the members do not support. That being said, I found this movie very entertaining and inspiring. These were people whose entire lives were dependent on the mine and their ability to earn a decent wage. They were totally invested in the union and had to live with the consequences, good or bad, of their actions. The women were as invested in the mine and the union as were their husbands, even though they were not actually employed by the mine or members of the union. The actions of these women were truly inspiring. But I did notice three areas which I think make the union portrayed in this movie completely different from today's unions: 1. The union leaders put up with the same hardships as the rank and file. Their jobs were on the line and they also suffered from not being paid, and were just as dependent on the donations from others outside of their union. 2. The union members (and eventually the wives as well) were free to vote their consciences with respect to all actions proposed by the union. There did not appear to be anyone who was trying to bully or unduly influence the other members to vote a particular way. 3. There were no politicians (local or from Washington) involved in the strike. There were no congressional hearings or big union bosses trying to influence the strike. Other than the donations of food and other necessities from other sympathetic unions, the mine workers were on their own.
james higgins 77/100. A very real and believably done movie, and it makes a powerful statement in a simple but persuasive way. What is amazing is how excellent the mostly non professional cast is, especially Rosaura Revueltas. She gives a beautiful and sensitive portrayal. Director Herbert J. Biberman does an excellent job developing the characters. Surprisingly the film has a feminist slant, one of the earliest examples of that in cinema. Making the film even more interesting is the group of men that participated in the film, producer Paul Jarrico, actor Will Geer, director Biberman and screenplay writer Michael Wilson were victims of the Blacklist. Very well done and a good of what you can do without much of a budget.