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Written and directed by John Sayles, this wrenching historical drama recounts the true story of a West Virginia coal town where the local miners’ struggle to form a union rose to the pitch of all-out war in 1920. When Matewan’s miners go on strike, organizer Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper, in his film debut) arrives to help them, uniting workers white and black, Appalachia-born and immigrant, while urging patience in the face of the coal company’s violent provocations. With a crackerjack ensemble cast—including James Earl Jones, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell, and Will Oldham—and Oscar-nominated cinematography by Haskell Wexler, Matewan taps into a rich vein of Americana with painstaking attention to local texture, issuing an impassioned cry for justice that still resounds today.
a small town in 1920's west virginia explodes when unionist miners clash with the owners of a tyrannical coal company in this critically acclaimed film from writer / producer john sayles (lone star). earnest labor leader joe keneban (chris cooper, a time to kill) arrives in matewan to better the lives of the men and women of this "company town" through unionization. but in his efforts to organize the workers of the stone mountain coal company, he ignites a powderkeg of racial hostility, corruption and betrayal - and touches off one of the most violent incidents in the history of the coal wars of 1920-21. mary mcdonnel (independence day), david strathairn (the firm), and james earl jones (clear and present danger) also star in the film that leonard maltin calls "compelling and compassionate... john sayles makes every note ring true."
