Truly the most moving film about Depression-era America that I've ever seen, King of the Hill follows a 12-year-old boy whose family is low in the social rungs historically, and only become moreso due to the Great Depression. Living in a cheap 1-room hotel suite whom they are consistently in arrears with, the protagonist Aaron watches as his family disappears piece by piece- first his little brother being sent to live with relatives to save on food costs, then his mother to a tuberculosis sanitarium, and finally his father to pursue the only employment he was able to find as a watch salesman in another state, leaving Aaron alone to hold down the fort (I believe this is what the title is referencing) and quite literally fend for himself in order to not be evicted from their hotel.

There is almost nothing illusory about this movie, but the subtlety of some of the emotions is powerful. Aaron suffers so deeply from being abandoned in the worst economic crisis in American history, and due to childish fear and desperation to pretend that everything will be okay, things still rapidly decay into something that is Absolutely Not Okay At All. After the hotel manager tries to forcibly evict Aaron, he spends days in his stiflingly hot hotel room midsummer, with no food, no contact with the outside world, and almost nothing to keep his mind occupied. The montage was one of the most heartbreaking I have ever seen- Aaron drinking tapwater, reading the same magazines, cutting food ads from magazines and eating them, desperately trying to sleep while spasms wrack his digestive system as he weeps with loneliness, pain and despair.

The conclusion happens in mere minutes. Aaron's father and brother return and his father announces they are vacating, effective immediately. Making all of Aaron's suffering for nothing. His sacrifices to keep ahold of the last thing keeping his family afloat. And his father merely responds to this sacrifice with 'I told you you would be okay.' The family drives off into the distance, leaving the hotel room Aaron guarded for his family behind.

As I mentioned I didn't find the movie to be illusory in any way, but there was something about this that struck me deep. I feel like Aaron would likely have been traumatised by the events of the movie for his entire life, and yet he receives no empathy or acknowledgement for all he suffered for. Perhaps he will bury it forever, perhaps he will become angry and lash out at his parents (father especially) for all they put him through.

I believe this is a slice-of-life type of story but it has the rare quality of placing circumstances and motivation of the main character at a relatively even keel. Very intertwined, much like life itself.

Does anyone have any greater insight/different takes on the conclusion (and larger story) of King of the Hill?