The Wind That Shakes The Barley (or, One Fucked Up Situation)

Who chose this film? I wonder.

Pretty sobering stuff.

Even bringing up the subject of Loach's Palme d'Or winning film with Wikipedia's biggest fan a very knowledgeable friend spurred on some interesting antagonism of discussion with Andrew (who I think until now has been remained unnamed, you figure it out), which sparked my interest in (and highlighted the gaping holes in my knowledge of) the Irish Republican movement and the Irish Civil War.

What Loach's film does quite expertly is it grounds the broader conflict in a terribly realistic (sometimes too much so) and down to earth setting. This is not a rehash of Michael Collins, the Irishmen here are not the political heavyweights and historical big names. The Wind That Shakes The Barley is the story of two brothers who are fighting the good fight only to find the good fight leads them in opposing directions.

There is a real "thow them in the middle of it" feel to the film, which I loved. Relationships are not really introduced and story doesn't arc as you would generally expect of a film. This of course makes it a little less accessible but far more successful, and ultimately more chilling.

Anyway, the walk home was just as enlightening as the film itself as Andrew went through the state of the Irish situation at the moment. It is sobering to realise that now, almost a hundred years on, the ramifications are still being felt and that on top of that the spirit of colonialism is still alive and well.

What about the children?

Tags: movie review, cinema, Ireland