“The Wind That Shakes the
Barley” is a war movie set In Ireland in 1920 during the Irish War of
Independence. It was a multinational
production directed by Ken Loach. It was
filmed on location in Ireland. The movie
was a big hit with critics and won the Palme D’Or at Cannes in 2006. It did very well at the box office in
Ireland.
The movie opens with some lads
playing a game that I had to read is called “hurling”. No wonder things are so tense. The guys get rounded up by thuggish
paramilitary types because they have violated the law against public
gatherings. One of the hurlers is
defiant and gets beaten to death. One
theme of the movie is that the British are dicks.
The movie is the tale of the
O’Donovan brothers. Damian (Cillian
Murphy) has a bright future ahead as a doctor.
He is pragmatic and not interested in fighting for independence because
he feels it is unattainable. This is in
contrast to his older brother Teddy (Padraic Delany) who is the leader of the
local IRA brigade. Teddy tries to
convince Damian to join the cause, but is unsuccessful until Damian witnesses
the abuse of some railroad workers by some Black and Tans.
The violence is back and
forth. The IRA members gun down some
British in a pub. This is followed by
one of the rebels named Chris being coerced into ratting out his mates. The result is Teddy, Damian, and others are
captured in the woods. Teddy is tortured
by having his fingernails pulled out.
This is not done graphically and is brief. Movie over, right? Nope.
A sympathetic British soldier allows most of them to escape! “I don’t want your deaths on my conscience.” That’s going to be a hard sell with his
comrades, but there are no consequences and no manhunt to recover the
prisoners. Unrealistic.
Damian is in temporary command
(nepotism much?) as Teddy recovers. It
falls to Damian to execute the traitorous Chris who happens to be a good
friend. Leadership sucks! The naïve, pragmatic doctor wannabe is
getting into this rebellion thing. He
joins the brigade in an ambush of a British convoy on a rural road. The twenty or so British are killed (no one
is wounded – that’s excellent shooting!).
The British decide to evacuate Ireland.
Just kidding. Can you say
retaliation? This comes in the form of
burning farms including that belonging to his girlfriend Sinead’s family. Damian has to impotently watch her get her
hair cut off while hiding in the woods.
Powerful scene, but it ends abruptly.
Before the next tit-for-tat,
word arrives that the war is officially over.
A treaty has been negotiated with the British government giving the
southern part of Ireland dominion status.
There is a great scene in a movie theater where the audience reaction
indicates the polarizing nature of the compromise. This polarization is also reflected within the
brigade. The debate is fascinating. It’s between the old schoolers like Teddy who
are willing to accept the potential of peace and the new schoolers like Damian
who want nothing less than the whole enchilada.
Have you noticed that Teddy and Damian have switched attitudes? Neat, huh.
Teddy joins the new Irish Army
because irony is a staple of movies like this.
Speaking of which, ironically Teddy and his new mates use some tactics
suspiciously like those British dicks.
Meanwhile, Damian’s crew carries on in the old style and he gets himself
captured in a raid to steal weapons.
Will Teddy be able to convince him to see the light and come over to the
dark side?
The film is not based on a true
story, but it has some fragments of history in it. The basic picture is accurate. The Irish War of Independence was a series of
violent confrontations between the Irish Republican Army and British soldiers
(either the “Black and Tans” or the auxiliaries) who supplemented the Royal
Irish Constabulary. These soldiers were
infamous for atrocities against civilians and destruction of property. A lot of this was provoked by IRA attacks
that targeted the RIC and British supporters like the Black and Tans and the
auxiliaries. This included ambushing and
attacks on police stations and barracks.
The movie accurately depicts the nature of the war.
The ambush in the movie is
clearly modeled after the famous Ambush at Kilmichael in County Cork . 17 Auxiliaries were killed by the IRA in a
manner similar to the film. This event
occurred one week after Bloody Sunday (when the RIC fired into a crowd at a
football match in retaliation for the assassinating of fourteen British
operatives earlier in the day). After
the ambush, the British retaliated by burning homes. County Cork was put under martial law and
became a hot bed of the rebellion.
Although none of the characters
are real people, Damian was inspired by Ernie O’Malley. O’Malley was a legendary figure in the
IRA. He specialized in attacking
barracks to acquire weapons. At one
point he was captured, but was allowed to escape by a sympathetic British
soldier. This took place in Kilmainham
Gaol. The jail was the sight of some
executions of IRA prisoners. The movie
used the site for some scenes. He
carried on the fight after the treaty and was eventually wounded and captured
in a shootout with Free State police. He
escaped execution because of his medical condition. He spent several years in prison.
“The Wind That Shakes the
Barley” is a thought provoking movie. I
did not know much about the Irish War of Independence before this film. It is certainly more historical than “The
Informer”. Even though it is not a true
story, it is very informative about the dynamics of Ireland during that rough
period. This being a movie, it can be
criticized for demonizing the British.
It seems like every group of British soldiers has a sadist in it. Most of the British are cartoonish. Loach did come under some heat for his
supposedly anti-British vibe. Hello, he
was aiming at an Irish audience. The
movie was very popular in Ireland – mission accomplished.
The movie is well-acted. Murphy does a fine job as Damian and the rest
of the cast is good. The movie could
have used subtitles for those thick Irish accents. The cinematography is top notch by Barry
Ackroyd. The scenery is lushly green. The dialogue is a strength. The debates clearly delineate the opposing
sides within the IRA with regard to the treaty.
The movie may not be fair to the British, but it is balanced in its
coverage of the pro-treaty and anti-treaty factions.
The movie is a bit heavy-handed
in its themes. Besides that the British
suck, Loach also trots out the old “end justifies the means” trope. We also get a strong dose of war corrupts and
war is hell. The film is a bit
predictable and has some clichés. Damian
is the reluctant warrior who grows into rebelliousness. The brothers end up on opposing sides. The younger is more impulsive, the older is
more practical. At least that’s how they
end up. They start out the
opposite. There is a brief period in the
film where they are on the same page because their arcs intersect. This is entertaining, but predictable.
“The Wind That Shakes the
Barley” is a good, but not great movie.
The pickings must have been slim at Cannes that year. I enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. It does a service to history and is
entertaining at the same time. Be aware
that it is a bit on the depressing side.
Damian’s side did lose, after all.
Will it crack my 100 Best list?
Unlikely, but you should still watch it.
grade = B+
I had heard about it and wondered if it is any good. It sounds interesting, and there are not that many movies on that period.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed. I definitely learned a lot. Previously, the only movie I had seen on the subject was "The Informer" which is a much inferior movie although Military History ranked it #51. Another example of modern is usually better than old. I reviewed it in September, 2011.
DeleteI loved it. I think it's excellent. It was one of the first movies I'd seen with Cillian Murphy and he's such agreat actor.
ReplyDeleteMovies on more recent incidents Like Bloody Sunday, are more anti-British. I find the history of the British occupation of Ireland very apppaling. This movie illustrates the eraly roots of the Troubles and why it took so long until there was some peace.
No surprise there. I bet you were happy with the accents. Murphy sure has a presence. I know you loved him in Peaky Blinders. I agree in supporting the Irish in their desire for independence. Reminds me a bit of the Algerian War of Independence.
DeleteIf you want history, don't watch a Ken Loach film. As a Brit, I can tell you that. Talented director, but so biased in any subject he covers, from Ireland to the welfare system.
ReplyDelete