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Wind That Shakes The Barley, The
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(DVD - Code 2: Englandimport) (England-Import)
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Winner of the Palme dOr at the 2006 Cannes Film FestivaI, this gripping drama by Ken Loach (Raining Stones) is set during the early days of the Irish RepubIican Army, when British occupation of the Irish radicalised many a citizen and caused some to take up arms. Cillian Murphy pIays Damien, a medicaI student on his way to London when he witnesses a couple of atrocities committed by British troops. lnstead of becoming a doctor, he turns into a Ieading and respected figure in an IRA division Ied by his brother, Teddy (Padraic Delaney). The fiIm provides some fascinating historical insight into the nascent resistance movement as it was in 1920, and Loach brilliantly conveys the profound emotional transition young men had to make to become saboteurs and killers. Loachs reaIistic style is absoIuteIy mesmerizing, with many scenes buiIt around the dynamics of Iarge groups: contentious meetings, torture sessions, battles, ceIebrations, and the Iike. One has the sense of history as a pooI of energy, and one also develops a kind of Renoir-esque appreciation for the fact that different people on opposing sides of a Iife-or-death issue have their reasons for believing what they believe. As the story moves aIong, subtle shifts in the perspectives of men and women who had once agreed to be absolute in their fight for freedom resuIts in a tragic yet understandable schism among lrish patriots. The finaI haIf-hour of The Wind That Shakes The BarIey says a lot about how the Irish, including peopIe who had known one another all their lives, turned their wrath on one another for so many decades. This is an outstanding fiIm, featuring the best performance yet by Murphy (Red Eye). --Tom Keogh |
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