The Wind that Shakes the Barley Rules the World
June 25th, 2006
I went to see this tonight - haven’t seen any reaction from Irish bloggers since it was released. There was plenty of coverage in the build-up, about winning the Palme D’Or at Cannes and also relating to the tripe that was published in some of England’s newspapers - one step away from labelling Ken Loach a traitor for his depiction of the British soldiers. The film is anti-British, they say that like its a bad thing? As Loach said “we could have shown things that were much worse than are actually in the film” but it would probably end up being too traumatic for a mainstream audience.
I think its criminal that the men who wrote these articles slamming Ken Loach can work for a newspaper. How can you demand that movie makers turn a blind eye to your history? Films like this should be encouraged - and not just about Ireland, but about Kenya, India, and Tasmania for starters. If they are historically accurate then there should be no complaint - how can you possibly whinge about “resurrecting old conflicts” - are we supposed to pretend they didn’t exist?
The fact that this movie is ranked just above Howard the Duck on imdb with a score of 4.7/10 (293 votes) is sickening. I wonder how many people who voted actually saw it. Watching the film reminded me of the recent documentary depicting the burning of Cork by the Black and Tans. They were absolute scum, and the atrocities they committed are well documented. If you want to nitpick about minor historical inaccuracies like the material of Cillian Murphy’s hat, thats fine, but all these English people lashing out blindly make me very angry.
It would be an injustice to the film if I were to attempt to review it - my knowledge of the struggle doesn’t go far beyond junior cert history, a handful of lectures from old people, and Tom Barry’s Guerilla Days in Ireland - so I’ll just give a few thoughts. The film is very well made - from the realistic hurling training at the start right through to the end. I could hear people in the cinema whispering about the inconsistency and inaccuracy of the accents… ranging from Bandon to Bishopstown to mild-Faranree, but thats something relatively few of us would notice and I wouldn’t consider it a drawback. Besides, if they used genuine West Cork accents then most of us would need subtitles.
Some great performances - notably Cillian Murphy, the old woman, and the politician (don’t know who played him but he was perfect). Some dodgy performances - mainly from guys with smaller parts, but there were times when Teddy (Padraic Delaney) did not acquit himself well. Most of these guys never acted before, so it is very impressive with that in mind.
The film was entirely contained in a small parish in West Cork, although news occasionally filters in from other parts of Cork and elsewhere in Ireland. This was really well done, and it also makes you realise that a similar film could be written in dozens of locations in Cork County, and probably elsewhere.
If there was an unfair bias to this film, it certainly wasn’t against the Brits… but I know a lot of Fine Gaelers who won’t be too happy.
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June 25th, 2006 at 17:08 pm
Interesting that you thought Delaney was poor in parts, I thought he gave a great performance.
June 25th, 2006 at 23:19 pm
Hmm maybe I am being unfair - would have to watch it again. He certainly looked the part and suited it well.
June 28th, 2006 at 9:03 am
I see the rating on IMDb is slowly moving up as more people see the film. It was at 5.1 last time I checked.
June 28th, 2006 at 14:47 pm
You’re right - its up to 5.5 now. The 41 people who voted a 1 have been balanced out now by 244 people giving it a vote of 10.
June 28th, 2006 at 20:32 pm
But still no news on a release date in the states.
June 30th, 2006 at 13:35 pm
I thought Loach did well in conveying the story in terms of the unfolding events - signature the treaty, then fall out between pro and anti-treaty factions abnd the contrast between before and after. The conflict then becomes pro against anti-treaty rather than Irish against British.
Having said that, I felt it was a disappointing film and rather slow moving at times, not to mention excessively melodaramatic towards the end. Certainly not one of Loach’s best works. He has done other films more deserving of the Palme d’Or.
July 15th, 2006 at 20:54 pm
how do i order the wind that shook the barley
July 16th, 2006 at 13:09 pm
Its not on DVD yet I’d say l doran. Give it a few weeks and it’ll be up on Amazon and everywhere else I’d say.
November 17th, 2006 at 13:23 pm
I’m originally from Cork living is Australia for 3 years and 5 of us went to see the movie in the local arts centre. We thought it was fantastic, great acting, the conflicts, the historical struggle of the people, I was crying at the end. Its important to see the stories we had all been told my our grandparents being depicted in film.