Search - The Basket on DVD

Any Small Rural Town in WWI Era America!

American_History_Rocks | Southeastern Michigan | 12/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Forgive me to indulge myself with my appreciation for this film and its excellent representation on rural farm life during the WWI era. While the film is about a rural farming community in the Pacific Northwest, because of its brilliantly historical likeness to many small farm communities in this era it is a symbolic story of American farm life in the early 20th Century.The film places itself somewhere in the late summer through early fall of 1918 (before the Influenza outbreaks in October 1918 [for the Pacific Northwest region]) and before the Armistice in November 1918. The central characters are two orphan refugees from Germany who are sent to live with the local preacher/doctor. The townspeople of course didn't wholly welcome their new-orphaned neighbors. The movie plays itself out between the one-room schoolhouse and the farm families and their struggles to cope with social, cultural, and economic strains resulting from the times and the war. The "war to end all wars" was a blessing and a curse to American farmers. This film represents both ends of the spectrum. Sadly, WWI proved more of a curse than a blessing. Farmers, if they planned and timed themselves well, without throwing themselves into debt, could make a substantial amount of money on wheat and other agricultural related products. For most farmers, however, the war brought about extreme labor shortages, increased inflation, increased debt and greater reliance on mortgages. Socially and culturally the war brought about unchecked patriotism that resulted in hostilities towards German Americans and German war refugees, increased censorship and generally, an increased role of the Federal Government. The war took its greatest toll on farm families (and communities) who sent they young "doughboys" to war. If they returned at all, they returned with immense social, mental and physical scaring. In the end, after watching this film, you'll come out of the experience emotionally moved, historically aware and personally enriched."