The Wind that Shakes the Barley

[rachelmanija]

Yesterday I was at my old college UCLA to do some research at the library. Afterward, as I was passing by the Theatre Arts movie theatre which screens free films on an irregular schedule, I approached the box office to get a schedule of screenings. Before I could say what I wanted, a ticket was thrust into my hand. So I took it and went into the theatre, where I saw a screening of The Wind that Shakes the Barley, a film about the Irish rebellion in 1920, directed by Ken Loach, starring Cillian Murphy from Batman Begins and 28 Days Later.

As soon as the director and subject matter were announced, I had a strong feeling that it would end with Murphy's character a) hanged, b) shot by a firing squad, c) shot in battle. To avoid spoilers, I will not tell you which if any of my guesses were correct. I will, however, say, a) depressing, b) unwatchably horrifying torture sequence, c) despite Loach's obvious sympathy with the Irish people and the Irish rebels/terrorists, he leaves it very much up to the viewer to decide if armed rebellion/terrorism actually was a good idea in either the long or even short run, d) Murphy's extraordinary eyes are not lit to display their spooky beauty, which I guess is appropriate since it's not that kind of movie, but disappointing to me despite his excellent performance, e) depressing, f) Iraqis will make movies just like this some day.

Comments

[vee-fic.livejournal.com]

There was a feature on Loach in the NY Times the other day -- it should still be free online -- about his work as polemic, and how a lot of people shy away from that sort of thing.

I think the only thing of his I've seen was Land and Freedom, and, yeah, it's a polemic; it's also very much about the raw and ambiguous human impulses. (In that case, anonymous discipline vs. personal ethics and decision-making, i.e. hey guess what, anarchists make great citizens but shitty soldiers.)

In re (f), that's the really depressing part, isn't it? That particular segment of history really isn't that far behind us.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

f) Yes, I was thinking that especially regarding the house-to-house searches, which were completely humiliating even when no one was hurt or killed-- which they often were.

reposted for typos

[hesychasm]

Just saw this on friendsfriends -- I saw the movie in London last year and came to much the same conclusions as you. I found it quite affecting, and yet it's such a simple movie. No bells or whistles to speak of at all. Although maybe that lack of dramatization helped it seem even more real.

(In my row at the theater an American woman kept badgering her husband to leave because she thought it was so depressing, and he kept saying to her contemptuously, "It's history!" They were being very loud about it and finally I just said, "Please hush. I'm trying to watch the movie." Two minutes later the woman finally left. I felt bad for her because her husband was such an ass, but I'm not sure what she was expecting -- a comedy?)