Genres

Visitors Review

Jazzist-H-Crisp 2012-05-26 03:23:50

This film endorses violence for political ends

The key scene in this film is where Loach tries to justify siding withthe Die-Hards in 1922. The Treaty had been approved by a majority inthe Dail and the people of Ireland, North and South, voted 2 to 1 forthe Pro-Treay candidates versus the Anti-Treay candidates. The Treatytherefore had democratic backing, but the Die-Hards decided to fighton, to take by force what they could not achieve by political means.Most people would say that terrorists who ignore democratic decisionsand inflict violence on others to impose their will on them, arefascists. Loach, however, takes their side in his incredibly selective(with the facts) and biased film. To hell with democracy, in otherwords, let's use murder and brute force to achieve our goal.Loach presents the justification in the scene where the priest tellsthe congregation that the Treaty has been voted on and so it should berespected as the democratic decision of the people. Damien, our younghero, does not agree. "The Treaty does not express the will of thepeople; it shows the fear of the people." And that is it. That is allthe argument that is needed to trample down a democratic decision.Damien picks up his rifle and goes off to kill some of the Staters whosupport the Treaty. And we are meant to approve of that! Loach wants usto side with the fascist thugs, the Die-Hards, who would not accept thedemocratically agreed settlement of the Treaty and tried to murdertheir way to a 32-county socialist utopia. Loach does not care that theTreaty was a negotiated settlement which satisfied both ends of theisland: the South got its independence and the North retained its linkwith Britain. He wants to bludgeon the North into acceptance. He doesnot acknowledge the wishes of the Northern Protestants once in hisbiased, narrow-minded version of events.What is the message that Loach sends out to the fascists and terroristsof today? Clearly, he does not care that the Good Friday Agreementachieved the backing of 80% of the population of Ireland, North andSouth. The GFA is no better than the Treaty of 1922. It is ademocratic, negotiated settlement, but fascists have no regard for suchniceties. The present IRA have laid down their arms and are nowpursuing constitutional politics. Loach must think that they shouldhave fought on, planting bombs and murdering policemen, as theirfanatical counterparts, the unreconstructed fascists of the Real IRA,are still doing. They are carrying on the brute-force tradition of theDie-Hards. They are trying to force the Northern Protestants into aunited Catholic Ireland with terrorism. Does Ken Loach applaud theirfascist atrocities? He does not disown them.

2012-05-25 11:35:33

The Wind That Shakes the Barley

This review is from: The Wind That Shakes the Barley (DVD) A beautiful film. I love being able to find things on Amazon that are just plain hard to find anywhere else. The seller provided it as promised and well within the shipment window promised.

hughchal-2 2012-05-20 09:09:21

Uncomfortably good.

Predominantly I liked it, but I think that Loach was opening a can ofworms (for the British viewers) dealing with that subject matter. TheBritish don't like being portrayed as bastards, just like we don't likebeing portrayed as drunken Micks.There's a lot of sentimental drivel in it, but whether that's down tothe writing, the direction or just having to explain it in its basicform to the American market I can't decide. There's obviously a lot ofimprov going on in the court scenes around the development of the CivilWar story, and this made me feel a bit uncomfortable because some ofthe lead characters fluff their words and are thus unconvincing. Maybethat's just the way Loach does his thing, but it sort of spoiled themood for me. Maybe another few weeks in the cutting room would'vehelped.But overall it's good. It was a bit of a refresher for me in thehistory department, because I didn't do history after I was 15 (neithertoday nor yesterday) and had forgotten the reasons for the Civil War.The movie emphasized the horribleness of that war with brothersfighting brothers and cousins fighting cousins. Very divisive.Cillian Murphy was grand, albeit a bit fey. I liked Liam Cunningham alot and Orla Fitzgerald, although I think she's a lot bigger that hertoken role.

caitrionarose 2012-05-20 00:18:49

Unbiased and touching portrayal

"The Wind that Shakes the Barley" is one of those films that will touchsome while leaving others wondering what all the fuss was about.I had heard much talk about the criticism bestowed on the film byEnglish critics - calling it anti-English and biased - but I must say Ifound it to be otherwise. I feel the reason the English critics were soharsh on the movie is because they simply could not identify with thesubject matter, maybe not being so aware of their not-so-shiny historyas they should have been before lashing out. This lack of connection isone thing that may keep international viewers from appreciating it inthe same way as Irish viewers.As someone who's family will have had a history on either or both sidesof the the civil war of the 20s and/or the on-going troubles in thenorth, the movie will make you think of your own great-grandparents orgrand-parents as being those young and initially vibrant people in thefilm whose worlds are torn apart by something they eventually mustreact against. Their inner struggles and heartbreaks were extremelywell portrayed (although Orla Fitzgerald's performance was the onelow-point of the movie, particularly her monologue following theannouncement of the terms of the Treaty - it felt like the only trulyunnatural and rehearsed piece of dialogue in the whole movie. Herperformance as a whole was wooden and left Murphy with little to workwith.) The real emphasis of the film stayed on the Irish men and womenwho partook in the fighting, against both the black-and-tans and theirfellow Irishmen, really only showing the Black-and-tans when absolutelynecessary, as the catalyst for the actions of the Irish. There was noindulgence in any biased portrayal of the English and to think so isnot seeing the wood for the trees.The unexpected success of the movie for me was not only in bringinghome the plight of the Irish at the time, but leaving the audience todecide how they might have reacted themselves, or who they may havesided with - my companion and I left the cinema sitting on exactlyopposite sides of the fence! Murphy's performance is excellent, thedevelopment of his character from a near coward to martyr wasbeautifully portrayed. Delaney's portrayal of Teddy was a littleunderwhelming I must say, but he gave excellent support to the maincharacter. Cunningham was wonderful, giving an immaculate and verysubtle performance letting his character get under your skin. As saidabove, Fitzgerald let the cast down with her blatantly poor, almostamateur performance.

Scaramouche Jay 2012-05-15 21:16:20

A emotionally provocative look at a war that tore families apart.

A film that I found personally moving, as well as balanced in itstelling. Unlike the "anti-Brit" piece it has been billed as, "The WindThat Shakes The Barley" is, at times, a brutal representation of alittle understood war. This film comes from a stand point that needs tobe remembered. All too often the Irish struggle against British rule ispainted as only the work of car bombing terrorists. This film shows itto be a cause that runs far deeper than that, a matter of identity. Itreminds us that the British were an occupying force in Ireland, andthat the initial resistance was no different that any other forindependence, no matter what came after. It shows faults on both sides,atrocities committed by the black and tans but also ambushes set up byRepublican forces. The centre piece of this film is surely not a dig atthe British, but a look at the relationships that any such conflicteffects, community members, friends, and especially that betweenbrothers. War films have been made for countless years, and more oftenthan not the British have been shown winning. Why then can't twobrothers from Co. Cork been shown trying to achieve right for them. Canit not finally be accepted that there are no winners and losers in war,no right and wrong. There are just those who survive, and those whodon't.

2012-05-15 06:47:26

A Powerful movie

This review is from: The Wind That Shakes the Barley (DVD) A story description has been written about this movie. I just wanted to add my 2 cents. This movie was recommended to me by an Irish lady while touring Scotland and Ireland. I have waited almost 2 years for it to show up here in the USA. A powerful and strong story of the fight for freedom in Ireland not unlike our own fight for freedom. The landscapes are beautiful and the characters ring true.

brianB-8 2012-05-04 20:15:44

A superb and subtle film with a vital contemporary resonance

This is Ken Loach on top form, reading a complex and subtle historylesson that implies, without ever stating it, a terribly simple messagefor our own times: that military occupation of an alien nation alwaysends in violence and brutality: that the act of occupation brutalisesnot only the occupiers but also, even more tragically, the occupied:that the experience of resistance to alien occupation teaches a habitof violence that may be impossible to shake off even when theoccupation ends: and that alien occupation may be disastrously divisivefor the occupied, especially if they are already prone to internaldivision by reason of their religion, tribes, sects, social classes,economic inequalities, or otherwise. Only the deliberately blind canaffect to miss the way that all these messages, each one carefullyillustrated by Loach as it applied (in some ways still applies) to theIreland of 1920, are horrendously relevant to Iraq in 2006.Yet Loach never completely lacks compassion for even the most brutal ofhis oppressors to the extent of painting them in simple black andwhite. He goes out of his way to show that the Black and Tans areindividuals who have gone through the horrors and slaughter of thefirst world war, ended only two years previously, and have inevitablybeen brutalised by it; and an act of merciful courage by one Britishsoldier who risks his life to save a group of Irish Republicans fromimminent execution shows that even these men have consciences and canbe brave in a good as well as a bad cause. Nor is the Irish resistance depicted as uniformly heroic or saintly:the terrible moral dilemmas that constantly face them are shown to haveno perfectly acceptable resolution, leading essentially decent men tocommit acts of dreadful cruelty, not only against their oppressors buteventually against each other. Anyone who can't recognise Iraq in allthis can't have watched The Wind that Shakes the Barley with muchattention.There are brilliant and sensitive performances by Cillian Murphy andPadraic Delaney as the two brothers; and every other part is playedwith sometimes gut-wrenching realism. There are scenes of violence andcruelty that are sometimes hard to watch, but they are always essentialto the narrative and to the film's basic themes, never gratuitous. Thephotography is equally outstanding: look out for Loach's and BarryAckroyd's subtle and effective use of colour and their constantreminders that the conflicts described in the film are linked as if byumbilical cord to the land of Ireland, beautifully represented incontrast to the ugly violence that repeatedly defiles it. The politicaldebates, the participants painfully seeking to find a way through themoral thickets of oppression and division, are seamlessly absorbed intothe action, as gripping in their way as the agonising effects ofviolence on human relationships and the intermittent outbreaks ofviolence and cruelty themselves.The squeals of 'anti-British!' from some of the more repulsive Britishtabloid newspapers can safely be ignored. This is great cinema. Itdeserved its Palme d'Or at Cannes. Don't, on any account, miss it.Brian

2012-05-04 16:08:36

A Compelling Film that Reveals the Complexities of Fighting for Change

This review is from: The Wind That Shakes the Barley (DVD) This is a very compelling and powerful film that leaves one with the feeling that it has been very authentically done. Most of the movie is filmed without music in the background, which really seems to make the struggles of the characters involved be more impacting. It is a rare movie about the IRA, one that neither glamorizes it and yet neither bashes it. It just shows the issues people involved in the movement faced and how some of them reacted to the pressures from it such as pleasing landlords and peace treaties. The Irish accent is not an easy one to understand and sprinkled in throughout the movie are some Gaelic phrases, however, the essence of what is taking place can be readily understood. Any movie involving a violent struggle contains some gore, however, the gore in this movie is shocking enough without being in poor taste. A rare accomplishment I'd say. I definitely recommend it to anyone, in fact I'm hoping to be able to watch the movie again with some of my extended family during vacation.

2012-04-30 06:23:24

Surprisingly outstanding

This review is from: The Wind That Shakes the Barley (DVD) There have already been reviews in great detail so there is not much sense in repeating the praises of the movie but i do like to add that when I looked at the DVD, I could have sworn I was seeing it in Blu Ray and especially I thought the special features looked terrific. Performances were very good. One of the best movie buys I have made.

Darryl-Gonzalez 2012-04-29 21:30:53

2 hours of my life I'll never get back

I added this film to my NetFlix queue without doing much research aboutit only because I knew the movie was about Ireland, because my wife ispart Irish, and because it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Believe me,I'll never make that mistake again.The acting is poor, the script seems nonexistent, and the conflictbetween the two brothers that was the central selling point of thetrailers, doesn't really appear until there are about 10 minutes leftin the movie. Don't waste your time with this garbage. If you want tosee a movie about Ireland, skip this film and go see "The Quiet Man"instead.Total waste of time.

yankate 2012-04-27 04:04:58

The story is finally told.

The comments have convinced me that this is a "must see" film. I knowthe story well, as my father was an anti treaty volunteer in NorthKerry--where Michael Collins was killed. Recently, a monument waserected to him and his comrades in that area. I hope that the filmmakes it clear how important it was to fight until the bitterend...until Ireland was on her way to becoming a republic. Acceptingthe treaty was a betrayal by the Irish leaders, after so much sacrificehad already been made. Knowing from childhood about the brutality ofthe British, the charade of the Free State bargain, introduced me tothe way of the world early. It made me look very closely at as manysides of a issue as I could. I am grateful, finally, for a film whichexplains what I have tried all my life to explain to others while itwas not yet "politically correct"!

zetes 2012-04-26 16:47:33

Powerful stuff

Last year's Palm D'Or winner. It was kind of a surprise winner, andopinions have been all over it. I haven't seen a lot of the officialselections, but of the few I've seen, it's the second best afterAlmodóvar's Volver (one of my favorites of last year). It's the storyof two brothers, Teddy and Damien (Pádraic Delaney and Cillian Murphy),who join the Irish Republican Army after witnessing several atrocitiescommitted by occupying British soldiers. The IRA is basically aninsurgent group, which will probably remind most audience members ofIraq. Perhaps this was Loach's intention, and perhaps this is even whythe film took home the Palm D'Or. But, allegorically, it doesn't fitthe Iraq situation particularly well. Neither the occupying force northe rebel force of this story matches up very well with present-dayIraq. Plus, the film ends after the occupying force has left. The lastthird of the film occurs after the Irish parliament has signed a verycompromising treaty, wherein they gain a sort of freedom, but are stillconsidered a part of the United Kingdom. If they refused to sign, therewould certainly have been war. The people are divided on this, and theybegin to fight amongst themselves, including the two brothers. Really,this is a powerful film about the toil, the sacrifices and thestupidity of war. It kind of reminds me of Melleville's Army ofShadows, and even in a way of The Godfather. It contains severalgut-wrenching sequences, well directed by Loach (this is my first filmby him, for what it's worth). Reviewers who want to comment on thepolitics of the film are pretty much ignoring that last and mostcrucial part of this film. The film is solely about the Irish, not theBritish. In all honesty, though many of the British soldiers we see arebrutal louts, I don't see them behaving at all unbelievably for whothey are, especially considering the situation (the film does kind ofplop us down in the middle of the argument without giving us muchcontext, it is true). Some of them aren't depicted this way, and mostare depicted as faceless fodder. Which is exactly how the protagonistssee them – or are supposed to see them, anyway – and that's what's mostimportant. There certainly is sympathy for the British victims, aswhen, after a raid that leaves a couple dozen British dead, a few ofthe inexperienced IRA men can't stop staring at the corpses they'vejust created. "Don't look at them. They'd have done the same to you,"is the order that's barked at them. I'm glad I skipped it at thetheater, though. I was worried about not being able to understand thedialect, and, sure enough, I had to use subtitles. Highly recommended.

zogz54 2012-04-21 19:46:53

One of Loach's best

The remarkably low rating that this film has so far received (4.1 as ofThursday 8th of June) is indicative of its ability to raise the hacklesof people who haven't even seen it. How can it be otherwise when thefilm has not yet been released? 135 people have voted; have all ofthese 135 people actually watched the film? Of course not. They're justvoting on the basis of their perceptions or assumptions concerning itspolitical agenda. IMDb voters are not alone in this; already SimonHeffer in The Daily Telegraph, Dominic Lawson in The Independent, RuthDudley-Edwards in The Daily Mail and Michael Gove in The Times areattacking a film they haven't seen (by their own admission). Theseattacks are the predictable reaction of empire apologists unable toabide the depiction of the dark and brutal underside of that imperialmachine, or the suggestion that anyone on the receiving end of thatbrutality might be justified in rebelling against it. The title ofDudley-Edward's lazy hack-job says it all, really: 'Why does Ken Loachloathe his country?' Loach is a traitor, and must be punished, therotter.It's a pity that this political controversy seems poised to overwhelmdiscussion of the film, because it's an extremely able piece of cinemaand deserves to be seen as such. Barry Ackroyd's cinematography issuperb, ably capturing the beauty of the Irish countryside withoutindulging in it. We are rooted in a locale without being lavished withpretty pictures. The acting is also excellent. The charismatic CillianMurphy carries the movie, but the support from Liam Cunningham, OrlaFitzgerald, Aidan O'Hare and Padraic Delaney is also commendable.But it's the collaboration between Loach and his scriptwriter PaulLaverty that makes the film something like a masterpiece. The grimprogress from the murder of an Irish youth to the growth of an armedI.R.A. campaign, with its attendant violence (shown in stark andhorrifying detail) is expertly managed; the only let-up comes not farfrom the end, after the signing of the 1921 peace treaty. Loach triesto show the brief jubilation and relief that ensues, but in terms ofmomentum almost drops the ball. The pace is re-established in time forthe inexorable tragic denouement, and the film's final emotional impactis considerable. The load is occasionally lightened by the odd touch ofLoach's characteristic wry comedy, such as the belligerence of theopening hurling game, the teenage message-boy who loses his message,the melodramatic pianist accompanying the newsreel announcing themomentous news of the creation of the Free State.One of the most disturbing scenes occurs when a group of I.R.A. menreturn from a successful battle and discover a farmhouse being attackedand destroyed by a group of British soldiers. The rebels, who have noammunition left, are forced to look on, concealed in the bushes; theywatch powerless as the farmhouse's inhabitants are abused. We watchalong with the characters, just as helpless as they are. Why do wewatch? Do we want to intervene, to play the hero and save the day? Dowe perhaps enjoy it? The trouble with many so-called anti-war films, asLoach has said, is that they outwardly condemn the violence while atthe same time encouraging (intentionally or not) a vicarious pleasurein the thrill of it all. We want to take part, we imagine how we wouldbehave in such circumstances (of course, we usually imagine ourselvesbehaving with impeccable bravery and surviving to fight another day).This scene, rather than placing us in the thick of the action, forcesus to occupy the position of impotent bystander. Perhaps this is whatbeing a film-goer is all about: powerless voyeurism. As we watch thecountry tear itself apart in civil war, manipulated by a devious andcallous colonial master, this point becomes all the more pertinent. Aquietly devastating film.

eringent 2012-04-21 08:51:08

About Time !

I think the film was a really good insight into the fight for freedom.I think it was about time that ignorant British people seen what thearmy was like in those days. As i stay in the UK myself i know howbiased they are. Even in school every history lesson is biased alwaysmaking Britain out to be the "good ones" and this certainly isn't true.i think this film should be shown in every cinema throughout Britainand then people might actually come to their senses about what the armywere really like. in fact i think their should be a film out about thehunger strikers and the whole history as it isn't fair that peopledon't really have the chance to find out about it.

carrigcleena 2012-04-20 16:30:37

Worst film I've seen

This is the worst film I've seen in a long time, a lot of the actor'swere never in front of a television camera before, even CillianMurphy's acting wasn't great, he was using his fake modern accent toomuch his girlfriend in the film was another persistent offender. Theykept going back to the same locations for different scenes and whensomeone got shot there was no blood. When they were talking they weremumbling and when they were shouting they were all shouting differentwords which was totally annoying. It wouldn't come near Michael Collinsas someone said it was like that film. Loach should have hired a fewdecent actor's used better sound effects and a least have a story tothe film. It was one lame excuse of a film. Luckily I only rented itfor one night as I was going to buy the DVD. The best part of the filmwas the end as I know that I will not be watching it again.

carmcdon 2012-04-19 23:13:40

This is a GREAT Movie

An excellent movie I would recommend to any student ofHistory....especially Irish or British History A difficult movie towatch...but an important one!! As a Canadian of Irish descent, I wasmost interested in this piece of early 20th century Irish History.The acting was superb....as was the music. I look forward to accessingthe soundtrack. KEN Loach did not disappoint.He has the ability toengage the audience at the outset and keep our attention.The time around the signing of the |Treaty was, indeed complicated anddifficult for all involved.This is a must see movie for all!!

aonghusdav 2012-04-11 06:33:29

Very Natural

excellent portrayal of the way things were in the 1920's in Ireland.The British army killed Irish people, the Irish people fought back andkilled British, why so sensitive? it happened, historical fact! Whydebate it when know what happened?Apart from a few lines of dialoguethat were dodgy and seemed to be left in on purpose, the acting wasexcellent, very natural. Probably the best portrayal of a hurling matchon film ever too! I thought the detailed letter to Murphy's loveinterest was unnecessary, before this his love interest was suttle andthis made it just slightly cheesy. One of my favourite things was thebeautiful cinematography of the Irish landscape, it gave a realimpression of how the warfare was encombed into every strand of Irishsociety at the time.

2012-04-10 18:49:09

Ken Loach's masterpiece!!

This brutal dramatis personae turns around the oppressive environment that hovered Ireland in the twenties decade, when the far cries and mournful sorrows of a bloody WW1 still remained in the soul and memories of the rest of Europe.That unstoppable determination in pursuit of independence and freedom, generated bloody confrontations inside the civil society against occupation forces. But the truce has come to calm the spirits, that configures two opposite points of view, those who agree with the truce and they who definitively assume this will not solve but on the contrary will lengthen the conflict.When a brother - seduced by the mermaid's songs of the great and pretended illusion - (the inseparable partnership of politics), forgets and loses above all, his human condition, agrees with a civilized dialogue, against the rage, the crude vision of the horrid reality not masked by treats or pacts, we have two opposed visions of the world; the natural law and the human law, hard to conciliate themselves throughout the history of the humanity. Ken Loach focuses with admirable crudeness the most little insights into this fratricide fight among citizens born under a same flag, land and tradition; he previously had given us a powerful film about the bloody Spanish Civil War; so, in this sense, that experience eased and even nourished the approach about that sensitive, painful and even not solved issue that many lives has generated.I would not hesitate to include this bold, brave and incisive film among the five gems of 2006, there' s not a single hole, script, performances, locations, fluid camerawork and wonderful edition process. Superb performance of Cillian Murphy!

2012-04-06 15:11:48

A brutal, sad, powerful film of the Irish rebellion against the British, and the civil war that followed

Ireland in the early Twenties exploded into armed rebellion against the British. Two brothers at first made opposite decisions. A group of Black and Tan British soldiers arrive at a farm where the brothers and a group of other young men are resting after a hurling game (something like field hockey). The British terrorize everyone there, the men, the women, the aged and the young. They beat and kill one man for refusing to give his name in English. When they roar off, one brother, Teddy (Padraic Delaney), immediately helps form the men into armed resistors. Damien (Cillian Murphy), a medical student, decides to go on to London to a prestigious medical school where he is enrolled to finish his studies. At the train station he witnesses another group of soldiers attack and beat the train's conductor and engineer. The attacks are filled with screams and rifle butts. Damien returns to the village and joins the armed resistors.From then on we're in the middle of a rag-tag guerilla war, driven by a stern sense of justice and a determination to force the British out of Ireland. The British use wide-spread intimidation, brutality, imprisonment and executions by courts martial. Some of the men we've met die, British soldiers die, hostages die, traitors die, a young friend of Damien's who gave information is executed by Damien. He slowly moves from a reluctant fighter to a man who has become single-minded in what he does. When a truce is declared and a peace treaty is finally agreed upon in 1922 between the British Government and Sinn Fein, the stark reality of compromise splits the fighters. On the one hand, there will be an Irish Free State with British troops withdrawn. On the other hand, it will be a member of the British Commonwealth, an oath of allegiance to the British crown will be required and Northern Ireland will remain an integral part of Britain. Is this what we fought for...to give allegiance to the British, many ask? What we fought for was independence and in most regards we have it, say others. Ireland must be whole, say some. If we don't agree the British will flood the island with their troops, say others. We watch a civil war begin, with Irishmen taking up arms and killing each other. For the brothers, who once fought the British together, it means a crucial split. One fights to put down the rebellion against the newly independent Irish state, the other vows to fight until all Ireland is completely free.One critic of the film said that "there isn't much nuance to either side." That's probably because, nurtured by terrible actions and long memories, there wasn't much nuance in real life. The Wind That Shapes the Barley is a sad, powerful and emotional film. It doesn't shy away from the brutality and torture by British soldiers or the ruthlessness of the armed response. Most of all, we come face to face with both the courage and the grime needed by the Irish to finally, after centuries of ruthless, condescending oppression, rid most of the island of the British. The acting is uniformly persuasive, especially by Murphy and Delaney as the two brothers. Cillian Murphy, in particular gives a subtle and mesmerizing performance. The brothers' fate may not be tragic but it is so sad it makes you reflect on what you've seen. That's not a bad thing. Each brother in his own way pays for the choices he makes.And the title? It's from a 19th Century poem that tells of a young Irish boy who soon will leave his sweetheart to join others fighting the English in the 1798 rebellion. They would carry barley in their pockets as provisions on the march. When they were slain and their bodies pitched into unmarked mass graves by the English, from their bodies the sprouting barley came to symbolise that Irish resistance to the British would never die.I sat within the valley green, I sat me with my true loveMy sad heart strove the two between, the old love and the new loveThe old for her, the new that made me think on Ireland dearlyWhile soft the wind blew down the glen and shook the golden barley'Twas hard the woeful words to frame to break the ties that bound usBut harder still to bear the shame of foreign chains around usAnd so I said, "The mountain glen I'll seek at morning earlyAnd join the bold united men," while soft winds shake the barleyWhile sad I kissed away her tears, my fond arms round her flingingA yeoman's shot burst on our ears from out the wildwood ringingA bullet pierced my true love's side in life's young spring so earlyAnd on my breast in blood she died while soft winds shook the barleyI bore her to some mountain stream, and many's the summer blossomI placed with branches soft and green about her gore-stained bosomI wept and kissed her clay-cold corpse then rushed o'er vale and valleyMy vengeance on the foe to wreak while soft wind shook the barleyBut blood for blood without remorse I've taken at Oulart HollowAnd laid my true love's clay cold corpse where I full soon may followAs round her grave I wander drear, noon, night and morning earlyWith breaking heart when e'er I hear the wind that shakes the barley.

Battle Juice 2012-04-06 03:12:43

Excellent film

I was stunned by the power of this film from it's very outset. This wasa very intense and gritty portrayal of the War of Independence and theeven more gruesome civil war. I couldn't stop thinking about the filmfor days after seeing it. The characters were fantastic, particularlyLiam Cunningham and Cillian Murphy, and the debates were very well donein the style only Ken Loach seems capable of capturing: honest, harsh,clumsy and eloquent. It was a harsh and ultimately sad film, a truereflection of the times. The slating of this film as 'pro-terrorist' or'pro-republican' is typical of someone who hasn't bothered watch it oris so blinkered by the old colonial view that any challenge to theCrown forces is an act of terrorism. There were terrorists on bothsides, with the British Black and Tans being exceptionally brutal intheir methods. This was a product of sending battle-hardened,illiterate and working-class British soldiers from the trenches ofWorld War 1 France run riot throughout the island of Ireland underdirect orders from the top brass. Another excellent piece of work from Ken Loach. His best yet.