The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2007)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Touches You

As Good As It Gets

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Ken Loach does what he does best - give a dramatic cinematic experience, that combines his political worldview and historic accuracy into something that ticks all the boxes. As a socialist as well, it's especially brilliant to see the portrayal of the two currents out of the Irish Independence Movement - a labor-oriented, socialist, revolutionary current and the bourgeois nationalist movement. The "family feud" isn't really a family feud at all but a debate between these two currents. We can see the today the result of this battle.The scenery is beautiful, the costumes, and the brilliant acting performances only help create a more immersive story. There is depth in the characters, and the ability for them to be both opportunistic, principled and shift in their orientation to some of the main questions of the time. Ken Loach has done a brilliant job in creating a historical work of art - his realism in his films is picture perfect in this film and really sets the bar for any future films covering the Irish Independence Movement.

From a standpoint of an admirer of Irish culture and history, I will try to say a few words about this film. Firstly I will go ahead and agree with the one of the previous reviews on the fact that the events portrayed in the film are most likely true. However, the very film seems like a poor propaganda, resembling a few pathetic Yugoslavian communist films. It most certainly lacks constructive plot. Sadly, even though the Irish were on the righteous side of this fight, after watching this, it might make you feel that they weren't and they just tried to make things right with this film. Dialogues lack drama but doubtlessly do not lack clichés. Clear proof of this is a case in which Brits raid rebels' homes and in this occasion manage to call them by every single derogatory name (mick bastard, fenian bastard, Irish prick,etc.)The director tried to adapt the tragic and heroic events from Irish history into a movie but failed hard to so. One time I watched Come and See (Idi i Smotri), a Belorussian film about WWII. This film left me with such strong impression that I wished to go out and kill a whole lot of Nazis. This is the kind of emotion that a good historical film should trigger. THIS FILM, HOWEVER, DOES THE VERY OPPOSITE. IT IS NOT WORTHY OF THIS BEAUTIFUL, POETIC TITLE WHICH WAS ACTUALLY TAKEN FROM AN OLD IRISH BALLAD. You might as well skip this one, don't throw away 2 hours of your life.

It's 1920 Ireland. Damien O'Donovan (Cillian Murphy), his crush Sinead (Orla Fitzgerald), and his friends are harassed by the British Black and Tans. His friend and Sinead's brother Micheail is beaten to death. He abandons practicing medicine in a London hospital to join the fight against British occupation under his brother Teddy (Padraic Delaney) who commands the local IRA brigade. They get captured and imprisoned with Dan (Liam Cunningham). Damien had witnessed the socialist train driver Dan being beaten by British troops for refusing to transport them. They manage to escape. After tough fighting, the Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed at the end of 1921. Teddy pleads for acceptance of the autonomous Irish Free State under the British crown. Damien follows Dan's fight for a socialist independent republic for the entire island. The two brothers end up on opposite sides of a civil war.The British are shown as sadistic villains. It's a little over the top but certainly not unexpected. The brothers' relationship could be more emphasized. Cillian Murphy is the star. I wish Padraic Delaney could be his equal. The most compelling parts are after the treaty when the brothers struggle to not fight each other. It turns a nationalist independence war into a personal family war. Cillian is so infuriating that I wanted to shake him. It ends not with a heroic fight but a family tragedy.

movie convey the difficult situation and the anger , violence of that time in Ireland . It shows threw what pain and grief people went fighting against British , fighting for something they believed in. Acting was excellent same as Cinematography . Any conflict, once started, takes on a life of its own. One act of violence leads to another in retaliation and the cycle continues . you clearly see how Cillian Murphy is getting affected by this events and how they transform him , the movie came a little short on human drama until the late ending of the movie which was heartbreaking to watch . "it's easy to see what you are fighting against but it's harder to know what are you fighting for" Great Movie . the movie is similar to Breaveheart but a little less powerful on emotional level