Dancing at Lughnasa (1998)

This affecting, bittersweet tale--adapted from Brian Friel's semi-autobiographical Tony Award-winning play--examines the emotional lives of the five unmarried Mundy sisters in 1936 rural Ireland. In their mutual care is 8-year-old Michael (sweetly understated Darrell Johnston), the illegitimate son of youngest sister Christina (Braveheart's Catherine McCormack). A voice-over from the adult Michael recalls that significant summer, in the month of August, during the feast of Lughnasa. The bolder townfolk dance around a fire to Lugh, an ancient god of light. Yes, this is fiercely Roman Catholic Ireland and Lugh a pagan god, but that irony is at the core of the film, the hypocrisy of tradition. The dramatic change in the richly metaphoric movie comes with the arrival of two men: eldest sibling--and only Mundy brother--Jack (Michael Gambon), a priest returning from many years in Africa, now addled, and Christine's long-absent lover and Michael's father, the charmingly flighty Gerry (Rhys Ifans). Beautiful music and excellent performances highlight the film, which also features gorgeous cinematography of the Irish countryside. Meryl Streep is stern eldest sister Kate; Kathy Burke is lively Maggie; Brid Brennan (who appeared in the stage play) is thoughtful caretaker Agnes; and Sophie Thompson is simple sweet Rose. It's a quiet film, but one filled with ironic and haunting meaning. Directed by Pat O'Connor (Circle of Friends). --N.F. Mendoza Amazon.com

TOO MUCH TALKING AND TOO LITTLE DANCING

FIRST LET ME SAY THAT THERE IS NO BIGGER FAN OF MERYL STREEP THAN I AM. THAT BEING SAID, THIS MOVIE WAS A DISAPPOINTMENT. I HAD HEARD JAMES LIPTON EXTOLL THE VIRTUES OF MERYL'S IRISH DANCING IN THIS FILM WHICH MADE ME WANT TO SEE IT. HER DANCING LASTED ALL OF THREE MINUTES! SHE IS HER USUAL TERRIFIC SELF, BUT THE MOVIE WAS TOO SLOW FOR ME. December 17, 2007

Lovely period piece of Ireland

"Dancing at Lughnasa" meanders winningly through a summer in 1936 in Donnegal, Ireland. It's a child's memory of the summer -- with four aunts, an uncle, his unmarried mother,a free spirit father and, always present, the magnificent green countryside of Ireland. A countryside so beautiful that one can hardly believe that suffering could take place there. Still,as the summer slowly unfolds, the viewer takes in the real complexities of the family's life, with worries about food and money and work and love and loneliness and the future. This is not a "message" movie,however. No preaching, thank you very much. The child's story is allowed blossom and speak for itself. And along with the suffering, there are glowing moments of clear pure joy that point the way to what life is really all about. December 14, 2007

Grim, but beautiful

It's 1936 Ireland, and the world is on the verge of many things. The five Mundy sisters live together in a small cottage with Michael, the love child they all share.

Comes summer and two men come to change their lives. Father John, the elder brother, has returned from his mission in Africa--he says, to die. Gerry, Michael's father also comes to stay the summer before he goes to enlist to fight Franco in Spain.

The film depicts a world of contrasts--Catholic strictures versus Ireland's pagan Lughnasa rituals, cottage industry versus industrialism. They country is on the brink of a war that will change the world irrevocably--and the family itself is changing, getting restless, and moving in different directions.

I won't kid you, "Lughnasa" is grim. It's Irish, but it's also lovely. The casting is great---Meryl Streep as the strait laced schoolteacher is a bit over the top, but Michael Gambon as Father John is just delightful. And there's the scenery--and the music. "Dancing at Lughnasa" is a very worthwhile watch and an essential for fans of Irish film. November 21, 2007

A worthy Irish film adaptation of an exquisite Irish play: DANCING AT LUGHNASA

I had the great good fortune to see Brian Friel's stage play DANCING AT LUGHNASA live in 1992.It was a phenomenal, yet bit of a downer piece of work (it was Irish after all....and we Irish don't seem to do comedy all that well!!!).

How did this moving play about five cloistered sisters in remote Donegal translate to the big screen? Actually, quite well.I have watched it several times now, and upon my most recent viewing,I,again, was struck at how the poignant Bill Whelan soundtrack and the rapturous cinematography of Kenneth McMillan actually took away from the focus of what was a very tight and seamless play.That happens in film, though, when a claustrophobic play is opened to the greater possibilities of translating to the screen.This is not that negative, though.The cinematographic shots of rural Ireland and the rapturous music are truly beautiful and the outstanding ensemble cast make DANCING AT LUGHNASA a sensually fulfilling feast if you have not seen the play.However, this is a magnificent film in its own right, and play or no play, this is a heartwarming and heart wrenching look at a tight-knit family who is faced internally and externally with pressures to cleave together.Special mention goes to Kathy Burke (Maggie) who was so magnificent as Mary Stuart in ELIZABETH, and Sophie Thompson (Rose) who is a BBC regular as well as quite a comical stage actress.Meryl Streep is the big name in the American release of this film,but in Ireland, from where the film hails, the other actresses got the Award noms.When someone wins over La Meryl, then someone has done something exquisite.

This play is often done in regional live theatre and is a must see if you love the film.Read Amazon's review for plot details.
This film, whether on DVD or VHS, is exactly the same print and ratio aspect.$11.00 vs. $1.00 gives one pause!!!! October 29, 2007

deliciously melancholy Irish family ballad

The boy through whom we generally see this story declares this to be a happy summer, a last summer when they would all be together, his family. In the backdrop is the August celebration of Lughnasa, a pagan festival which troubles the Irish Catholic Christian consciousness and gives the story a nice edge as five sisters labor to keep the family from financial ruin in the late '30s in northeast County Donegal, Ballybeg. Those of us with Irish roots are particularly touched by the tongue and the human struggle, the rhythm of conflict and enmeshed love of a close family--in this case somewhat centered around the homecoming of their elder brother, a priest to Africa, who has dementia. The youngest sister is the mother of the narrator whose father appears out of the blue and stays the summer. Another sister falls in love with a disreputable and abusive man. Fabulous story, sad story, and a most moving ballad sung by the sisters one night, music written by the director of music in the tradition of the old Irish ballads with words from W.B. Yeat's poem. Mr. Whelan's website indicates that "most of the music for the film is an orchestral score performed by the Irish Film Orchestra under the direction of Proinnsias O'Duinn, with the final song, Whelan's setting of the poem "Down By The Salley Gardens" by WB Yeats sung by Dolores Keane" as the final credits roll. Gorgeous--cinematography, characters, story, music...gorgeous. September 9, 2007

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