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The Wind That Shakes
The Barley
Directed by: Ken Loach
Starring: Cillian Murphy
Genre:
Drama
Run Time: 127
min.
Release Date:
March 2007
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE
BARLEY is about on-par in the UK as the troubles the US has
accepting its treatment of Native Americans. Mother England has
calloused hands, and it’s not all from hard work; some of it is from
taking up arms against neighbors and suppressing democracy in favor of
holding a death-grip on the finances of other countries. Which brings us
to the formation of the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and this film’s
point.
Anyone with a working knowledge of history knows that northern and
southern Ireland aren’t exactly peaceful toward one another. And it
isn’t just about religion. Dating back to the 1920s and beyond, England
flexed her mighty muscle over the Irish in order to keep a tight hold on
its foreign provinces. The “emerald island” suffered incredible
oppression and financial destitution at the hands of UK law and its
enforcing military. This divided Ireland and its inhabitants on multiple
levels. Peace versus non-oppression. Catholic versus Protestant. The
rich versus the poor. It is an incredibly complex situation.
What this film does it put the perspective entirely on the IRA and why
they became a force to be reckoned with. The story it surrounds is
basically a microcosmic study which focuses on Damien (Cillian Murphy,
BREAKFAST ON
PLUTO), a student off to medical school but pulled up
short by the atrocities he witnesses from English troops on Irish men,
women, and children.
Damien’s brother Teddy (Padraic Delaney) is already an IRA member when
the film begins, and Damien’s transition into their ranks is easily
done. Teddy is a higher-up in the IRA and Damien is seen as
second-in-command. The difficulties Damien has in turning from healing
doctor-to-be, to that of a war-hardened killer are excellently filmed.
The love between Damien and his brother is fraught with peril as the two
eventually find themselves on opposite sides after the ratification of a
peace treaty. Damien’s descent into questionable morals (enabled by his
brother) are handled very well by director Ken Loach who has an eye for
panoramic vistas littered with fields of barley.
The barley is important to the film if a bit too obscure for most
watchers. The title implies a 19th century poem by Robert D. Joyce in
which young men fighting for Irish independence in 1798 would carry
barley strands in their pockets. When they were killed, their bodies
were buried and from there a barley patch would later emerge. With all
of the barley sprouts visible around Ireland, there’s little doubt how
many young men died.
Although pretty lopsided (one-sided) as far as historical recountings go, the story
of a young man’s dedication to his country, his brother, and his own
damaged morality are something rarely seen in a short 127 minute film.
Most of the time it would take years of filming documentary material to
get this sense across to an audience. But The Wind That Shakes The
Barley really does shake up the watcher. Let us just hope that no more
pockets need be filled with grain again.
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Image from The Wind That
Shakes The Barley
DVD cost: $14.99
Purchase:
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Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
The commercial
interest expressed in the United Kingdom was initially much lower than
in other European countries and only 30 prints of the film were planned
for distribution in the UK, compared with 300 in France. However, after
the Palme d'Or award, the film appeared on 105 screens in the UK, more
than three times larger than the UK release for any of Ken Loach's
previous films.
Movie Quote: "I
tried not to get into this war, and did. And now try to get out, and
can't."
Other Actors/Actresses
from The Wind That Shakes The Barley
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