The Wind that Shakes the Barley

Maybe my expectations of this film were too high, but I was very disappointed in it. It was beautifully filmed, but far too simplistic and full of the clichés about Ireland that I would have expected to find in a Hollywood dollar churner but not in a film by this director. I have no axe to grind in terms of the political message of the film, indeed I agree with it, but I think most people who see this film would not leave with any deeper understanding of the issues it attempts to address. The socialist argument was particularly badly handled, with a monologue by the trade union character (otherwise excellently portrayed) that reminded me of dreary political consciousness raising afternoons in seventies student unions. The plot started out promisingly but turned into a predictable potboiler long before an ending that should have moved me, but didn't. It was also full of lazy mistakes in terms of the sets, grass growing right up to the door of the house in a supposedly inhabited farmyard, moss growing on the chimney wall of a stone cabin that would have had a permanently burning peat fire, all the clothes too new looking - small details, I know, but very jarring when they occur in such numbers. I'm very sad to say I've been warning my friends off this film.

My family came from Clonakilty and were directly involved in the events portrayed. The film struck an authentic note in portraying the young men and their fight. Of course the British forces were shown as monsters in the film as part of the mode of telling the tale, but growing up listening to the stories of the fighters, tales of atrocities did not feature. The technical detail in the film was accurate and quite excellent and for that reason it may be of interest to point out three anomalies. First: the men sung the present Irish National Anthem when they were held in the barracks and they sung it using Irish (Gaelic) words. In fact, the popular republican song which became the National Anthem was called The Soldiers' Song and the words were (of course)in English. They went: Soldiers are we, Whose lives are pledged to Ireland, Some have come, From a land beyond the waves, Sworn to be free, Once more our ancient sire land, Etc The Gaelic words were not written until ten or fifteen years later and were then promoted by Government as part of the fiction of Ireland being Gaelic speaking. When I was in school in the 1940's we learned the original English version and although nowadays the schools teach the Gaelic words, very few people retain them. Second: after the men came in from the ambush they were fed at the farmhouse, eating from round bowls. I never saw such a dish in use in Ireland until people started going to Spain on their holidays in the 1960's. We used flat plated or flat-bottomed soup plates. Third: When asked when he was leaving for England, the young doctor said "at the weekend". He would have said "on Saturday" or "on Sunday". The word "weekend" meaning a segment of time only arrived when the weekend became a defined segment of time. When small farmers worked a seven day week, they had no "weekends" and did not have a word for them in everyday usage. My word for this film is 'evocative'and it with this sense that it should be watched.

Oh dear, oh dear. Pretty boy Cillian Murphy is forced down the road of violence by the grunting, swearing , murdering sub human caricatures (sorry they're the English by the way). He is a noble fellow (doctor don't you know). And he dies for a cause , he sticks by his principles, he doesn't sell out. He doesn't listen to the voice of the Irish people who wanted peace, who voted for peace, the weaklings. He longs for equality, democracy and a better world (and he's willing to kill you to get it). He is fighting the establishment, fighting for socialism...screeeech, apply the brakes ,reality check: since when was the civil war about socialism? It was about oaths and symbolism, about the mystical blood drenched concept of a republic. For many republicans the Republic had a life of its own, it offered justification for non-democratic and anti-democratic ideas and actions. You're on dangerous ground here Ken. Why so little mention of elections and Dail votes. Is democracy not as sexy as men in trenchcoats with guns? Or is it that the elections went "the wrong way"? Why is it that the case for democracy is made by a pompous priest? Why are the English such Orcs? The Republicans just happened to be hanging around The Four Courts when they were attacked by the Free Staters? Your film encourages the Right and not the Left. It is about National Struggle, about The Blood Sacrifice about the supremacy of a mystical notion of the republic over the democratic wishes of the people. You tag on some ridiculous ahistorical socialism to sugar coat your nationalistic rant. By the way for those of you that don't know what happened next? The civil war ended and after a few years the vast majority of Republicans entered the Free State parliament, swore an oath of allegiance to the king and accepted the political solution. They accepted the treaty. They dumped their guns and accepted boring old parliamentary democracy.

I have seen many of Loach films, and I like them, some a lot! But this one, stands out for being one-dimensional and with a sledgehammer-like rhetoric. So what do I mean? We get to follow a young man through the film, who only after five minutes into the film becomes convinced that an armed struggle is the best way to beat the oppression. Then the film follows his violent actions. And after many minutes (some with very masochistic and self-sacrificing violence) the British occupation force is ousted. Now (at last) the film is getting ready to address issues of greater difficulty, because suddenly with the disappearance of the common enemy, the fighters start to disagree. Should the fight continue until a worker's socialist republic is formed, or should a liberal democracy with some ties to the British (but not occupied) be accepted? Our protagonist chooses the former option. At this point in the film (unless the repetitive first hour and a half has bored you completely) the real challenge to the audience could be given: how can a people with different opinions on how to live and structure society, reach a common ground for their mutual existence, how should a socialist state deal with persons that does not want to join the collective, now when their occupier has left? The film has a clear answer: they are traitors, lets fight to the End! Here the personal drama, which is where Loach has his great power, is substituted for very simple political discourse. No intellectual "tension" is built up because the answer appears so simple... FIGHT! And the ending... so masochistic! You almost wonder if the violence is the (erotic?) force of the film. Of all films Loach has made over the years, that this one would win in Cannes... well, you can not help but question the taste of the jury!

I must say that this film should have aroused some emotional response in me at some level. Unfortunately, it did not. Throughout, it fails to establish the characters as people you care about and the climax of the film with the episode between the brothers ought to be very moving. Because no proper relationship is established between them throughout the film, the ending leaves the audience feeling nothing. Far too much time was spent on showing the brutality of the 'Black and Tans'. We quickly get the message that they were violent, abusive thugs within the first twenty minutes. The rest of the time could have been more usefully spent on developing character and focussing on the far more interesting premise of the division of opinion and consequent violence between the Irish themselves as a result of the treaty to form the Free State. Instead, we get an hour and a half of rabid, screaming thuggery from the British and about half an hour to look at a vast and far reaching aspect of Irish history in the fight that pits brother against brother. A conflict of such bitter brutality needs to be shown in its full horror and I'm afraid that the deaths looked more like something from a village hall play in the way that they were sanitised. (Not a drop of blood from anyone who is shot!). This could have been a wonderful film, the cast, authenticity of locations etc... seemed very good. Unfortunately, I felt that it was oddly cold and lacking in emotional involvement. It added nothing to my knowledge of Irish history of the period. I am not an apologist for British behaviour in Ireland over the centuries. I am the son of Irish migrants and was born/brought up in England. I do however feel that the time spent on showing how villainous the British were was way out of proportion and overshadowed what could have been a story of great courage and bravery played out against the odds.

The director when challenged about the portrayal of the British likened the British soldiers to the SS… Sensational when you consider Irelands neutrality during Europe's darkest hour when they 'home rule and all' turned their back on the slaughter of millions of Jews, Gypsies and Slavs. The film comes from the tradition that everything the British did was terrible and the children should bare the sins of the father… Not true and a typical left wing stilted view of reality If you like dropping the coins in the tins in Boston's 'Irish' bars you'll love this – and there are plenty of those people giving the film a 10 out of 10. However, if you're after reality and not left wing self loathing then get down to the library and read the truth.

An excellent film that outlines that tragic period of Irish history. Anyone wanting to understand the modern day troubles in Ireland MUST see this film to get a better understanding of things. I Thoroughly enjoyed this film and there was hardly a dry eye in the house by the end. It shows how easily communities, indeed families, were torn apart by divisions over the best way forward to achieve Irish freedom and how desperate people were. This is a film that should have been made years ago and should be viewed with an open mind by those who are not from a nationalist background. These events did occur and the time for denial is now % ! A first class film.

Another powerful movie from Ken Loach and a well deserved winner of the Palm D'or at Cannes. Some magical performances not only from the stars, but from the whole cast. I would urge you to find this film and go and see it. You will be educated, moved and it will leave you wanting to understand more. From the start you feel as if you are in the 1920's and this feeling stays with you throughout. Obviously with a lower budget than most of the summers blockbusters, the film still manages to contain amazing action sequences and just has a wonderful atmosphere throughout. Truly fantastic!

I saw this film at a private screening and found it difficult yet beautiful to watch. I have a personal history with the subject matter as I come from a family from both sides of the political divide in Ireland. A stigma that exists to this day but is reflected so profoundly with this film. Ken Loach's direction is crisp and perfect. The performances are, each and every one, incredibly believable and achingly visceral in the depiction of the conflicts of civil war. Cillian Murphy is wonderful and quite possibly the best Irish actor ever. Pádraic Delaney as his brother and enemy takes the role and makes it one of the best male performances I've seen. It is rare when a film allows you to understand both sides of a violent divide so clearly. The Wind that Shakes the Barley does this with blinding perfection. This film is a template for what film makers can achieve with a small budget, dedicated performers and a timeless topic. Some who find this so provocative need to look further into their own loyalties to determine why the truth bothers them so much. Those who feel this to be Republican propaganda, ( and for you Americans I mean Irish Republican ), need, seriously, to investigate their own history. It doesn't surprise me that so many British people know nothing of their countries colonizing tactics in Ireland and elsewhere in the world. Six counties of Ireland still remain under British control. The sacrifices made 80 years ago still resonate today but the Republic of Ireland is now the third richest country in Europe. The question still debated is Was it Worth it? The question we ask is how's Scotland and Wales doing?

An admirer of Ken Loach's unique style of film making, I say this is the best I've seen. His direction and techniques are now so finely tuned they sit almost subliminally behind a brutal but superlative story set in 1920s Ireland. I say 'almost' because I came out knowing I've never seen a film like this ever before, thanks to Loach. Approach it as if you are about to watch a play. Listen intently to the dialogue complete with Cork accents depicting beautiful people forced into situations where they cross lines they cannot return over. Share in their juxtaposition of feelings of remorse with acts of war/self-preservation. In the horror of it all you might wish to be able to suspend disbelief in the fictional sense, but that'll be replaced with the overwhelming sense of truth and a not-so-long-ago reality. The individuals could be you or I at anytime and we take solace in the fact that perhaps we are among the lucky ones to have escaped this. Make space then to contemplate if, as a nation, we still effect this turmoil on others today. Remain with the story though. You feel as if you are there, smelling the turf in the air, privileged to be on the doorstep of the thatched residence that witnessed so many tragedies. The character portrayals are mesmerising as Loach maximises body language; hesitancy, fear, stuttering and small moments of humour in his realistic approach. You already know each character before s/he speaks. But when they do speak, you are in the room with them agreeing or disagreeing - ready to pitch in if the moment were to present itself. As each personal struggle is revealed you again feel fortunate to have witnessed it. Simultaneously you feel relieved to be able to pull out and watch from a distance when more horror action scenes unfold. This is true drama seeking no false gratification akin to other current films. Unstinting in its portrayal of the Brutish (not a spelling mistake) it is nevertheless universally significant and local at the same time. The photography is exquisite capturing timeless Ireland. The sound plays the noises of the times so well the viewers could imagine the scenes with their eyes closed. As a Scot I am dismayed at the general poor response/reviews of the British press and I'm reminded that the British psyche has to learn to come to terms with its recent past. I wish that today we could transcend that and promote this film to ordinary people as an important film to see at some point in their lives. In future, any young adult asking me about the 'Irish problem' - I'll simply lend them my own personal DVD of this film and say "watch this!" It'll make it all the more easier for all of us to see the past and to avoid repeating it.