I caught the Cannes Palme D’Or winning The Wind that Shakes the Barley - a harrowing depiction of the events in Ireland circa 1920. As far as I am aware, its a fictional story based around true events (or allegedly true for you revisionists out there!) that occurred in Ireland during the last years of the British occupation of what is now known as the Republic of Ireland. It also explores the roots of the Irish Civil War that occurred between June 28, 1922 and May 24, 1923.
I can’t say that I’ve seen many Loach films, but I was interested by this one. Being a student who has studied 18th century Irish nationalism, as well as being Irish myself, you could say that I would be naturally inclined to enjoy a subject as close to my heart as this. Its a brutal affair, to say the least. My companion described it as ‘horrible’ (presumably in a way that describe the violence that is shown to the viewer, rather than the film itself). The message is simple - desperate people will do desperate things in order to effect change and fairy tales do not exist.
I give it 4 asterisks - ****
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