Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Mrs. Miniver is a wartime family drama that takes place in WWII-era England. Clem Miniver (Walter Pidgeon) is a successful architect and family patriarch and Kay Miniver (Greer Garson) is the well-liked and dutiful housewife, both of which begin the film by spending outside of their means as if nothing bad could happen. When their son Vincent visits from Oxford, he butts heads with and thereby becomes very attracted to Carol Beldon (Teresa Wright), the daughter of the wealthy Lady Beldon. There is also an important subplot involving Lady Beldon, whose traditional victory at their local flower show is threatened by Mr. Ballard, a sweet but less wealthy old man that has grown a beautiful rose that he has affectionately named after Mrs. Miniver. All of this is thrown into turmoil and disarray when Germany invades Poland and England declares war on them, leading to Vincent joining the RAF to become a man more of action than of words. The Miniver family must now hold it together and try to provide normal lives for their young children as the war threatens to pull their community and their family apart. 

A wartime family drama? No way! Mrs. Miniver definitely begins feeling like a "been there, done that" for Katie and I as it is remarkable thematically similar to How Green Was My Valley and several other Best Picture winners thus far (and more to come, I'm sure). Despite it's continual relevance and the fact that this film was made in wartime, the rich-privileged-people-being-humbled-by-hardship-during-war premise was becoming a bit tired for us, but luckily this film concluded in a poignant and memorable way in the last third. Memorable moments include the hilarious lack of discretion from the young Toby Miniver and the nearly comical optimism that the Minivers display to visiting Vin even after their home has been caved in by bombs. Despite being perhaps less preachy and certainly more optimistic than Valley, make no mistake that this is a propaganda film (the final title card of the film reads, "Remember to buy war bonds and stamps every pay day") but it's Best Picture win was likely due to Miniver being the hopeful and reassuring film that the United States and maybe even the world at large needed at the time. The humor and positive approach to the conflict were refreshing and Mrs. Miniver remains an enjoyable if not life-changing film. 

Like Tim said, it was a propaganda movie that I wasn't really expecting much from.  I really did end up enjoying it however, it was almost comical how straightforward this movie was.  There were some amazing moments as Tim said.  When a German pilot is shot down and makes his way into the Miniver house, Mrs. Miniver is held at gun point and is forced to provide the German soldier with food and milk.  She eventually is a baller and gets the gun away from him, calls the police, and has him arrested all while Mr. Miniver and friends are out looking for him.  It felt to me like the whole movie was leading up to the death of the oldest son (Vin) but (SPOILER) he doesn't die, the twist is highly unexpected!  Both Tim and I were actually shocked... we just assumed.  But I won't go spoiling it for you! I will say though that Greer Garson (Mrs. Miniver) and Vin were married in real life... ew.  They had some goodbye kisses that rubbed me the wrong way! Tim mentioned the flower competition in the plot synopsis but the cool thing was that it was there only link to their old life.  They all, as a town, held on to their frivolous flower show as a way to keep some normalcy in their lives.  There were some great camera angles, especially in the conclusion when through the roof of the battered church we see the planes flying overhead as a symbol of protection. 

After completing the film, William Wyler, the director, joined the US Army and was posted to the Signal Corps; he was overseas on the night he won his first Oscar. He later revealed that his subsequent war experiences made him realize that the film actually portrayed war in too soft a light.

Carol Beldon: I know how comfortable it is to curl up with a nice, fat book full of big words and think you're going to solve all the problems in the universe. But you're not, you know. A bit of action is required every now and then.