The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)

What a powerful film

Many of us have Irish roots, and have been to the Republic of Ireland many times, and seen the emergence in recent years of the "Celtic Tiger." We have watched films about the fight for Irish independence from England in the early 20th Century, but "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" may be the most powerful and moving yet. Its ensemble cast is magnificent, including Cillian Murphy as Damien.

Ireland shared a kinship with the American colonies in its fight against the cruelty and subjugation of the British crown. Just like the American patriots who spurned any compromises with England short of total freedom, this film graphically records the Irish fight for that cherished goal--with brother sometimes pitted against brother, not unlike the American Civil War.

Some of us have Scottish roots and have been there too; and some day Scotland may be totally independent, like William Wallace fought for centuries ago. It is moving in that direction, peacefully.

The courageous American actor Sylvester Stallone said in an interview more than 20 years ago: "A survivor is someone who has to be somewhat of a loner and listen to his own inner voice. And the most important thing . . . a survivor has is to be able to take a totally desperate, negative, horrendous, pessimistic situation and turn it into a positive. And that can happen."

It happened with the American and Irish patriots. And it happens each and every day in the United States today when courageous men and women stand up and fight against injustices, especially those involving governmental functionaries who engage in prosecutorial misconduct and other unconscionable abuses.
August 7, 2008

Quick ship - Perfect Condition

Outstanding! Acting, directing, casting, etc. the best. I may be biased since my grandmother on my father's side came from Ireland to marry my grandfather, but I think not!! From stories I've heard and histories I've read about the Irish Revolution and the Irish Civil War, this movie is on target. The British were savage in their treatment of the Irish; and the Irish were savage in their treatment of the British and then of their own. This movie has something for everyone - history, action, war, love story...Outstanding! July 10, 2008

Micro View Of the Irish Rebellion and Civil War

This film does an admirable job of telling the story of the Irish Rebellion against the British and the subsequent civil war following the treaty that Michael Collins negotiated with England. Using the device of a group of young friends who are first caught up together in the rebellion and then opposed to each other during the civil war the film's shortcoming is trying to distill a complex National History into the lives of a relatively small number of characters.
Nevertheless the acting is brilliant and the screenplay is very good for the most part although at times the political debates seem a bit contrived.
Overall I would recommend this movie as a solid historical drama that is beautifully filmed and very well acted. June 21, 2008

Wind That Shakes the Barley

The Wind That Shakes the BarleyExcellent movie and seems to be as true to life as you could see in a film. It presented the conflicting emotions of the people at that time in a very realistic way. The film made the historical events of the time seem much more personal and therefor the pain, suffering, sense of loss and triumph much more real. June 20, 2008

Childish and one-dimensional

This film is a one-dimensonal account of the Irish war of independence and subsequent civil war in the 1920s. Every character is constructed as a childish stereotype and the result is less a film about what happened in Ireland than an account of Irish self-mythology about the conflict.

The real historical events are not so easy to deal with. In a few years, Ireland went from relative stability to a total breakdown in order which caused the british to leave. The answer to how that happened isn't as easy as young educated doctors seeing british atrocities on their train trips. Nor is there an easy answer why, on attaining independence, that Ireland should degenerate into civil war.

On a technical and craft level, the film is far better than the script it has to work with. It could have been a great film if those involved had been able to rise up above jingoistic patriotism.

Basically, if you want a rah-rah patrotic epic of heroic ireland without any doubts, attention to history, difficult questions or ambiguity, you will like this film.

June 7, 2008

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