As the granddaughter of a coal miner who was also a union organizer, and having been born and brought up in Appalachia, I was highly interested in the theme of this film. What a huge disappointment. Holly Hunter grunts and twangs like a deranged Daisy Mae, almost unintelligibly at times. Her accent is not at all mountain, but cartoonish. One could expect much more from an Academy Award winner.<br /><br />Also, it might come as a huge shock to some, but people in Kentucky and West Virginia have had electricity, running water, and indoor facilities for at least 50 years now. Not only that, but--hold onto your seat, now--most women there don't go around dressed like a Dorothea Lange photograph (and didn't in 1973, either!); nor do the children all go barefoot; nor does everyone live in rusted-out shacks.<br /><br />For a much more realistic picture of mine families, try "October Sky". The story is set earlier, in the 50's; but you can see that even then, people had more semblance of civilization that the dismal one-step-up-from-HeeHaw that "Harlan County War" portrays.<br /><br />A strange irony that this film, supposedly sympathetic to the plight of families suffering because of corporate greed, was shot in British Columbia during the film crew strike. Shame on them. Shame on me, too, for wasting money and irreplaceable time on this letdown.