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Category:    Home > Reviews > Documentary > Acting > Performing > Towns > Industry > The Bituminous Coal Queens Of Pennsylvania (Documentary)

The Bituminous Coal Queens Of Pennsylvania (Documentary)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Feature: C+

 

 

At first, because we are in the middle of an entire cycle of mockumentaries, you don’t know if you are being swindled or conned when watching the David Hunt/Jody Eldred release The Bituminous Coal Queens Of Pennsylvania (2004) about the dreams of small town residents who want to go from the dying industry around them to show business.  In part, because so many such mockumentaries have created an unfair stereotype of small town persons as dumb, ignorant and unaware.

 

Why?  Can such writers and filmmakers think they don’t get newspaper, cable or satellite in small towns?  Is it the reactionary left getting nuts?  Is it a President Bush transference?  Whatever the case, this pleasant production is the true story of a small town in Southwestern Pennsylvania called Carmichaels (Population 556) where coal mining was a peak industry in its day.  The town has become a hybrid of traditional old and new.  The 50th Anniversary of the Coal Queen Pageant in 2003, continuing long after the peak of that industry, brings on a celebration of showbiz, the people of the community and its roots.

 

The result is a laid-back work of about 90 minutes that reminds us of how people can be happy and have peace of mind that most in an over-mediated techno-age might be quick to write off.  However, at a time when most had jobs, a living wage and the big family game was bowling, maybe there is a reason to reconsider.  In this case, coal was so popular that people would have it in their fireplaces and ashes from it and the like were used on snow and ice before salt was commonplace.

 

To the creators’ credit, everyone comes across as kind and dignified for the most part and we get an increasingly rare look at an America sadly going into the sunset and not because of some stupid liberal/conservative dichotomy.  Instead, it is because we have lost far too many industries and it is a situation being made worse by certain individuals simply to destroy any sense of community (especially for those who confuse community with communism or tell us lies & myths about liberty over liberalism).  Actress Sarah Rush is the center of the tale here and she is often charming.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is on the soft side, but the mix of occasional older footage puts this into the documentary category where you get a mix of all kinds of footage.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix simply spreads out simple stereo except for the occasional music piece or sound effect.  The combination is professional and just fine.  The only extra is an update on the participants.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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