It's the next movie in our film series
Movie - The Wind that Shakes the Barley
**Winner Best Film Cannes Film Festival**
Ireland, 1920. Damien and Teddy are brothers. But while the latter is already the leader of a guerrilla squad fighting for the independence of his motherland, Damien, a medical student at University College, would rather finish his training at the London hospital where he has found a place. However, shortly before his departure, he happens to witness atrocities committed by the ferocious Black and Tans and finally decides to join the resistance group led by Teddy. The two brothers fight side by side until a truce is signed. But peace is short-lived and when England imposes a treaty regarded unfair by a part of the population war resumes, this time pitting Irishmen against Irishmen, brothers against brothers, Teddy against Damien...
I just saw it tonight...
*** Possible Spoiler alert in part of this post, consider yourself warned ***
Excellent film and very well done. I greatly enjoyed it and it is a powerful movie. I have one word describing the Black and Tans and it is not repeatable on this board but Sadistic would be one good word that is mildly clean. I thought it was very well written despite the length it moved along quite well at a good pace. Beautiful cinematography and the costuming was excellent. Interestingly I found it ironic that opened the game playing Shinty a childhood game that pitted kids against each other and provided a perfect irony for the end. I wont give the ending away for those have not seen it but it is powerful. I also found it interesting that they used both Irish Gaelic and English. The score is beautiful and does not rule the film.
From my own reading, Micheal Collins stated it was not a perfect peace but it was better than nothing. THe civil war that occurred in Ireland after the treaty was passed created a rift in parts of Ireland and even families that has lasted for decades and to some extent may never fully go away.
DBF and I chatted after the movie at a different coffee shop after this afternoons incident and discussed at length about the movie and about other movies and documentaries about the Easter REbellion and the road to becoming a republic in 1949. There is one documentary that is rather interesting if you can locate a copy and that is "HANG UP YOUR BRIGHTEST COLOURS". It is about Michael Collins and was banned initially back in the early 1970s by the British Governent and the BBC. It interviewed some of the survivors of the Easter Rebellion of 1916.
Another excellent documentary about Michael Collins is SHADOW AT BAEL NA BLATH" that was done by RTE.
The movie, MICHAEL COLLINS, is not a bad movie and some of the fact in it are accurate but it does have issues. My main beef is who in their right mind casted Julia Roberts in the role of Kitty Killane was mad.
There is a novel trilogy by Morgan Llewellyn that is based on the Irish drive for independence of British rule and has years for its title: 1916, 1922 and 1949.
