American Dream

1990

Documentary

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 88% · 13 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 88% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.8/10 10 1111 1.1K

strike iowa labor labor strike labor union woman director

Plot summary

When workers at the Hormel meatpacking plant in Austin, Minnesota are asked to take a substantial pay cut in a highly profitable year, the local labor union decides to go on strike and fight for a wage they believe is fair. But as the work stoppage drags on and the strikers face losing everything, friends become enemies, families are divided and the very future of this typical mid American town is threatened.

Director

Barbara Kopple Photo
Barbara Kopple

Top cast

Jesse Jackson Photo
Jesse Jackson as Self
Dan Rather Photo
Dan Rather as Self
Ronald Reagan Photo
Ronald Reagan as Self
Richard Knowlton Photo
Richard Knowlton as Self - President Hormel & CO.
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
905.66 MB
956*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 38 min
Seeds 3
1.64 GB
1434*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 38 min
Seeds 8

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by dlsperl 8 / 10

Always think of this doc when I see a Hormel product at the store.

I definitely liked this documentary. I usually think of it a little when I see a Hormel product at the grocery store. It was impressively done and it really has an authentic feel to it. For some reason I have not yet seen Harlan County USA, but will certainly do so sometime this year. I have seen this twice and it is definitely worth more than one viewing. While the tone starts as pro-union, there seems to be at least some hints about their limitations as well later in the film. I spent my childhood in a town nearly 100 miles north of Austin and the film made me appreciative that my father had access to more opportunities when he got laid off (we were much closer to the Minneapolis region than Austin). I could feel for the families of those in Austin during this film as it was primarily a one company town at that time and for all I know it may still be the case. Documentaries work best when there is a focus on "real" people rather than well known celebrities IMO. This is evidence of that and I recommend this film.
Reviewed by Flak_Magnet 7 / 10

Great follow-up to "Harlon County, USA"

This Oscar-winning 1991 documentary is captivating, personal, and heartfelt. It is also, however, a bleak and dark film, and the vantage it provides into American capitalism is a haunting one. Much like Kopple's previous documentary: "Harlan County, U.S.A.," "American Dream" is more than an examination of a labor dispute. (Specifically, the 1984 strike of Hormel, Inc. meatpackers in Minnesota). This film asks that we look at the bigger picture, and it was made during a time when the American economy was faltering. Through her frank and journalistic interactions with various stakeholders, Kopple presents a riveting deconstruction of the working class in America, as well as big business and the interworkings of organized labor. Underneath it all, though, this is a human interest story, and watching the strike unfold chronologically - from various viewpoints - is magnetizing. Brother is pitted against brother, union against union, and Kopple's delicate political handling is masterful. Anyone interested in organized labor in America, as well as the sometimes fleeting notion of the American Dream, this is one you SHOULD NOT MISS. This is gripping, psyche-dwelling stuff. (PS: During the film's closing credits, take note of the huge amount of organizations and people who contributed their money, and volunteeered their talent to this project. Perhaps nothing else is greater testament to its importance). ---|--- Was this review helpful?
Reviewed by ohara825 9 / 10

Stirring

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