The wind that shakes the barley

V

Vicente

New member
I remember going to watch "the wind that shakes the barley" in the cinema. It is without doubt one of the most moving and powerful films i have ever watched. I think it really shows that period in irish history very well, and provokes so many emotions inside me.

saddest part of the movie was that 17 year old who they beat to death at the start.. i actually cried in front of my gf when they showed that :( it was heart-breaking like..

anyone else seen it and have opinions on it?
 
Firstly, its not intentionally anti- british, its just explaining the story, which unfortunately did not have the british behaving in a very just way. You cannot block that out from history. I am not anti- british, i awknowledge that the british didnt act well in history, but i think they learnt from it and have since improved really well. why do we have to see history negatively.

You cant just belittle a film because it portrays a group of peple badly.

By that arguement, you could say we cant discuss "the passion of the christ" becuase it is aniti-jewish, or "to kill a mocking bird" because its anit-white, "gone with the wind" for being anti-yankee, "oliver!" for being anti-upper class...

i could name like a million other films that you could prejudice the same way
 
Anti British? Oh dear. So, I guess a film director should change the period of history to favour the british?

Take out a book and read on the english rule in Ireland. I recommend the following ..

Famine by FSL Lyons
Guerrilla Days in Ireland by Tom Barry
R.F. Foster or Tim Pat Coogan's books on Irish History

Plenty more on online book stores.
 
Im glad that the first view on it being anti british wasnt the general consensus

it is my favorite film and it was awful if it was portrayed as an attack on the british- its aim was to show the travestsy that occured during and before the irish war of independance, mostly at the hanRAB of the british. it was for the most part based on a true story and string of events

Im sorry if that makes certain people dislike the film or be offended but that was the way history was- i do not feel that we should ignore that

im an irish catholic, but i aknowlege that in history neither the irish nor the catholic church has been complete angels- i would not dismiss a film highlighting this (aka da vinchi code)
 
to be honest, the first time i saw it- i didnt want to watch it because i thought it would be too heavy for a date- i wanted some light comedy.

But my gf dragged me in and said i would appreciate it, and i must say i am sooo glad i watched it- it was like the greatest movie i have ever seen
 
I think the general criticisms of the film were:

1--not anti-british per se, but that the film dealt with both sides, esp the British, in gross caricatures, with little subtlety, complexity or context.

2--Loach tenRAB to let his hobbyhorses affect his films (see point 1 as an example)
 
It's a brilliant film and a must see for those that want that bit of unadulterated truth in their viewing. ;)

Disturbing in parts? Yes. But then I wouldn't have had the respect for this film that I do if it wasn't giving that bit of punch. :)
 
If you're watching a movie for 'unadulterated truth', then you make the the critics' case for them. ;)

I don't have a problem with polemical films...but that's because I trust myself to understand the distinction between film and documentary. JFK is one of my all-time favourites but I don't take it literally...it's just a masterful piece of film-making.

I should add that this one didn't really stick in my memory and I found it a little dull actually. Maybe I'll try watching it again at some point.
 
It's a great film.

It does no harm whatsoever to be prepared for it's frank tone, though, as it could detract from your enjoyment of it, otherwise.
 
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