Drama | THE LABOR FILM DATABASE

Motel the Operator (Motl Der Operator) [1939]

88m; U.S.

Director: Joseph Seiden

Cast: Chaim Tauber, Seymour Rechzeit and Yetta Zwerling

Synopsis (IMDB): Motl, a poor laborer, loving husband and new father, leads cloakmakers in a strike for better working conditions. When he is severely injured by strikebreakers, his wife, Esther, and infant son are left destitute. Desperate to save her starving child, Esther gives him up for adoption to a wealthy couple, and then commits suicide.

Contact: Based on a play by Chaim Tauber Music by Sholem Secunda Yiddish with New English Subtitles; two suggestions from the National Center for Jewish film sharon rivo ncjf@brandeis.edu; co sponsor with Josh Speisier and teh DCJCC screening room;http://www.jewishfilm.org/motl.html

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Drama, Strikes-Strikebreaking-Lockouts

Mother Kuster’s Journey to Happiness (1929)

20 Apr

121m; Germany

Director: Phil Jutzi

Cast: Alexandra Schmitt, Holmes Zimmermann and Ilse Trautschold

Synopsis (IMDB): A masterpiece about a working-class family in the late twenties in Berlin. You see Mutter Krauses fight for survival shown in such a modern way that you feel close even if it is nearly ninety years away. The way the camera (operated by the director himself) films the scenes and sometimes just the everyday life on the streets of Berlin is so energetic and real. The actors are playing very physical and natural (which was surprising for me as i expected acting in silent movies as much more stiff and awkward). All characters are very pure and just like in a documentary. Ilse Trautschold as the daughter is unforgettable. Whenever you get the chance to see this film go and watch it. Faßbinder once said it was his favorite film.

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Drama, Women, Working Class

Mother Trucker: The Diana Kilmury Story

20 Apr

89m; U.S.

Director: Sturla Gunnarsson

Cast: Barbara Williams, Timothy Webber and Rob Lee

Synopsis: Women making it in trucking.

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Drama, Transportation, Women, Working Class

The Mother (Mat) [1926]

20 Apr

90m; U.S.S.R.

Director: Vsevolod Pudovkin

Synopsis: Set in Russia during the harsh winter of 1905. A mother finds herself caught in emotional conflict between her husband and son when they find themselves on opposite sides of a worker’s strike. The son is a supporter of the workers but the father has been blackmailed into supporting the bosses and blacklegs. Despite the grief which follows the mother gradually comes to support the strikers and eventually is prepared to risk everything in standing up to police and Cossak troops in a demonstration endangering both herself and her precious son.

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Children, Drama, Labor History, Organizing, Politics, Strikes-Strikebreaking-Lockouts

Mr. Mom (1983)

20 Apr

91m; U.S.

Director: Stan Dragoti

Cast: Michael Keaton, Teri Garr and Fred Koehler

Synopsis (IMDB): Jack and Caroline are a couple making a decent living when Jack suddenly loses his job. They agree that he should stay at home and look after the house while Caroline works. It’s just that he’s never done it before, and really doesn’t have a clue.

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Children, Comedy, Drama, Unemployment-Wages, White Collar

My Life to Live (Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux) [1962]

20 Apr

80m; France

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Cast: Anna Karina, Sady Rebbot and André S. Labarthe

Synopsis: This film explores a Parisian woman’s descent into prostitution. The movie is comprised of a series of 12 “tableaux”– scenes which are basically unconnected episodes, each presented with a worded introduction.

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Drama, Service Workers, Women, Working Class

My Name Is Joe (1998)

20 Apr

105m; U.K.

Director: Ken Loach

Cast: Peter Mullan, Louise Goodall and Gary Lewis

Synopsis: Two thirtysomethings, unemployed former alcoholic Joe and community health worker Sarah, start a romantic relationship in the one of the toughest Glasgow neighbourhoods.

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Drama, Romance, Safety & Health, Service Workers, Unemployment-Wages, Working Class

My Town (2002)

20 Apr

60m; Poland

Director: Marek Lechki

Cast: Radoslaw Chrzescianski, Agnieszka Banach and Krzysztof Stroinski

Synopsis (IMDB): A slice of life in the mining/industrial region of Upper Silesia. Many mines and factories closed down in 1990s, resulting in high unemployment, economic depression, and general hopelessness. We follow 25-years-old unemployed Gozdzik who lives with his alcoholic father, his mother, always anxious about the future, and an assortment of neighbours. The gray monotony of daily life is broken by arrival of a long-absent uncle, a new girl staying with neighbours, and a tragedy involving Gozdzik’s best friend

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Posted by Metro Council on April 20, 2012 in Drama, Unemployment-Wages

Tags: Mining