Film: Harlan County, USA
Director: Barbara Kopple
Country: USA
Released: October 1976
Runtime: 103 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Studio: Cabin Creek Films
Influenced: Ken Loach, Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky, Alex Gibney, Laura Poitras
Barbara Kopple's acclaimed documentary film Harlan County, USA chronicles the 13-month-long Brookside Mine strike by coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky that took place in the mid-1970s. Kopple, an American filmmaker and documentarian, was approached by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) to document the ongoing strike at the Brookside Mine, and immediately recognised the importance of the story and decided to capture more fully the struggles and triumphs of the coal miners on film. It's a gruelling watch but also a powerful and intimate portrayal of the hardships faced by the striking miners and their families, as well as the brutal and dangerous conditions they endured in their fight for better working conditions and union representation.
One of my favourite moments in the film is the conversation in New York between a local cop and a Kentucky miner, who together find a moment of solidarity while discussing their work and pay conditions. Harlan County, USA is full of such moments of class solidarity, including along racial lines, as the mining community sticks together in the face of intimidation, racism and appalling work conditions. The Brookside Mine was owned by the Eastover Mining Company and the miners, represented by the UMWA, were making simple, reasonable demands of Eastover – safer working conditions, fair wages and recognition of their union. The film portrays the tension between the miners and the company, as well as the solidarity among the workers and their families.
One thing that Kopple achieves so well in the film is showing viewers the harsh realities faced by the miners, including dangerous working conditions, low wages and a constant lack of job security. The strike begins with the miners barricading themselves in the mine to prevent the company from reopening it with "scabs", i.e. non-union workers. Following that, the film depicts in stark detail the arrival of Eastover's strikebreakers and the ensuing violence, including the shooting of miners and their supporters. Kopple was a pioneer of of direct cinema, capturing real events as they unfolded without re-enactments or scripted elements, and her handheld camera work and intimate interviews provided an authentic and unfiltered look at the lives of the miners and their families.
One of the most cheering elements of the film is the involvement of the women in the community, who actively participate in the strike, organise protests and confront the company's officials. We also see the solidarity demonstrated by other unions and organisations, including the National Women's Committee to Support the Miners, which raises funds and provides support for the striking miners. At the end of the film, Kopple shows us the tense negotiations between the UMWA and Eastover, leading to the signing of a collective bargaining agreement after more than a year of struggle. Harlan County, USA had a significant impact on both the US labour movement and the field of documentary filmmaking, and won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 1977. Its success helped bring attention to the plight of coal miners and highlighted the importance of labor unions, while also humanising the struggles of the working class.
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