The Wind That Shakes the Barley (film)

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The Wind That Shakes the Barley
The Wind That Shakes the Barley poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ken Loach
Produced by Rebecca O'Brien
Written by Paul Laverty
Starring Cillian Murphy
Liam Cunningham
Padraic Delaney
Music by George Fenton
Cinematography Barry Ackroyd
Editing by Jonathan Morris
Studio UK Film Council
Pathé Distribution
Distributed by IFC First Take (US)
Release date(s)
  • 23 June 2006 (2006-06-23)
Running time 127 minutes
Country Ireland
United Kingdom
Germany
Italy
Spain
France
Belgium
Switzerland
Language English
Irish
Latin
Budget €6.5 million[1]
Box office $22,899,908

The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a 2006 Irish war drama film directed by Ken Loach, set during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) and the Irish Civil War (1922–1923). Written by long-time Loach collaborator Paul Laverty, this drama tells the fictional story of two County Cork brothers, Damien O'Donovan (Cillian Murphy) and Teddy O'Donovan (Pádraic Delaney), who join the Irish Republican Army to fight for Irish independence from the United Kingdom. It takes its title from the song "The Wind That Shakes the Barley".

Widely praised, the film won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.[2] Loach's biggest box office success to date,[3] the film did well around the world and set a record in Ireland as the highest-grossing Irish-made independent film ever.[4] In 2011, the film's record was broken by The Guard.

Contents

Plot [edit]

County Cork, Ireland, 1920. Dr. Damien O'Donovan (Cillian Murphy) is about to leave his native village to practice medicine in a London hospital. Meanwhile, his brother Teddy (Pádraic Delaney) commands the local flying column of the Irish Republican Army. After a hurling match, Damien witnesses the summary execution of his friend, Micheál Ó Súilleabháin, by British Black and Tans. Although shaken, Damien rebuffs his friends' entreaties to stay in Ireland and join the IRA, saying that the war is unwinnable. As he is leaving town, Damien witnesses the British Army vainly trying to intimidate a railway guard and the train driver for refusing to permit the troops to board. In response, Damien decides to stay and is sworn into Teddy's IRA brigade.

After drilling in the mountains, the column raids the village's Royal Irish Constabulary barracks for revolvers, then uses them to assassinate four Auxiliaries. In the aftermath, Anglo-Irish landowner Sir John Hamilton (Roger Allam) coerces one of his servants, IRA member Chris Reilly (John Crean), into passing information to the British Army's Intelligence Corps. As a result, the entire brigade is taken arrested. In their cell, Damien meets the train driver, Dan (Liam Cunningham), a union official who shares Damien's socialist views. Meanwhile, British officers interrogate Teddy, pulling out his fingernails when he refuses to give names of IRA members. Later, Johnny Gogan (William Ruane), a British soldier of Irish descent, helps all but three of the prisoners escape. After the actions of Sir John and Chris are revealed to the IRA's intelligence network, both are taken hostage. As Teddy is still recovering, Damien is temporarily placed in command. News arrives that the three remaining IRA prisoners have been tortured and shot. Simultaneously, the brigade receives orders to, "Execute the spies." Despite the fact that Chris is a lifelong friend, a shattered Damien shoots both him and Sir John. Later, Damien tells his sweetheart, Cumann na mBan member Sinéad Sullivan (Orla Fitzgerald), about the shame of facing Chris's mother. After the IRA ambushes and wipes out an armed convoy of the Auxiliary Division, another detachment of Auxiliaries loots and burns the farmhouse of Sinéad's family in retaliation. Sinéad is held at gunpoint while her head is shaved. Later, as Damien comforts her, a messenger arrives with news of a formal ceasefire between Britain and the IRA. While the village celebrates, Damien and Sinéad steal away for a romantic interlude.

After the Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed, the brigade learns that a partitioned Ireland will only be granted Dominion status within the British Empire. As a result, the brigade divides over the terms. Teddy and his allies argue that accepting the Treaty will bring peace now while further gains can be made later. Others oppose the Treaty, proposing to continue fighting until a united Irish Republic can be obtained. Dan and Damien further demand the collectivisation of industry and agriculture. Any other course, declares Dan, will change only, "the accents of the powerful and the colour of the flag." Not all Anti-Treaty Republicans are depicted as agreeing, however. Later, the Irish Free State replaces British rule and Teddy and his allies begin patrolling in Irish Army uniforms. Meanwhile, Damien and his allies join the Anti-Treaty IRA. When the civil war begins in Dublin, the Anti-Treaty column commences guerilla tactics against the Free State. As the violence escalates, Teddy expresses fear that the British will invade if the Republicans gain the upper hand. He decrees, "They take one out, we take one back. To hell with the courts."

Ultimately, Dan is killed and Damien is captured during a raid for arms on a Free State barracks commanded by Teddy. Sentenced to death, Damien is held in the same cell where the British Army imprisoned them earlier. Hoping to avoid executing his brother, Teddy pleads with Damien to reveal where the IRA is hiding the stolen rifles, offering him full amnesty, a vision of Ireland at peace, and a life with Sinéad. Damien responds, "I shot Chris Reilly in the heart. I did that. You know why. I am not going to sell out." Devastated, Teddy leaves the cell in tears.

Writing a goodbye letter to Sinéad, Damien declares his love for her, saying that he knows what he stands for and is not afraid. At dawn, Damien is marched before a firing squad. As both brothers fight back tears, Teddy gives the order, the squad fires, and Damien crumples to the ground. That afternoon, Teddy delivers Damien's letter to Sinéad. Enraged and heartbroken, she flails uselessly against Teddy, then orders him to leave. Sinéad falls to her knees mourning Damien, while Teddy mournfully walks away.

Cast [edit]

Production [edit]

The film stars mostly Irish actors and was made by British director Ken Loach. It is an international co-production between companies in Ireland, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

The title derives from the song of the same name, "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," by 19th-century author Robert Dwyer Joyce. The song made the phrase "the wind that shakes the barley" a motif in Irish Republican song and poetry. Loach took some of the inspiration for Damian's character from the memoirs of Irish Republican leader Ernie O'Malley.[5] University College Cork historian Donal O Drisceoil was Loach's historical adviser on the film.

The film was shot in various towns within County Cork during 2005, including Baile Bhuirne (Ballyvourney) and Timoleague.[6] Some filming took place in Bandon, County Cork: a scene was shot along North Main Street and outside a building next to the Court House.[6] The ambush scene was shot on the mountains around Ballyvourney while the farmhouse scenes were filmed in Coolea. Damien's execution scene, however, was shot at Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, where many leaders of Irish rebellions were imprisoned and some executed by the British and latterly in 1923 by the Irish Free State.[7]

Many of the extras in the film were drawn from local Scout groups,[8] including Bandon, Togher and Macroom with veteran Scouter Martin Thompson in an important role. Many of the British Soldiers seen in the film were played by members of the Irish Army Reserve, from local units.

Among the songs on the film's soundtrack is "Oró Sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile", a 17th-century Irish Jacobite song whose lyrics the nationalist leader Pádraig Pearse changed to focus upon Republican themes.[citation needed]

Distribution [edit]

The commercial interest expressed in Great Britain was initially much lower than in other European countries and only 30 prints of the film were planned for distribution in Britain, compared with 300 in France. However, after the Palme d'Or award the film appeared on 105 screens across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The RESPECT political party, of which Ken Loach is on the national council, called for people to watch the film on its first weekend in order to persuade the film industry to show the film in more cinemas.[9]

Themes [edit]

According to director Ken Loach, the film attempts to explore the extent that the Irish revolution was a social revolution as opposed to a nationalist revolution. Mr. Loach commented on this theme in an interview with Toronto’s Eye Weekly (March 15, 2007):

"Every time a colony wants independence, the questions on the agenda are: a) how do you get the imperialists out, and b) what kind of society do you build? There are usually the bourgeois nationalists who say, 'Let's just change the flag and keep everything as it was.' Then there are the revolutionaries who say, 'Let's change the property laws.' It's always a critical moment."[10]

According to Rebecca O'Brien, producer of the film and a longtime Loach collaborator,

"It's about the civil war in microcosm... It's not a story like Michael Collins. It's not seeking that sort of biographical accuracy, but rather will express the themes of the period. This is the core of the later Troubles, which is why it's so fascinating to make."[11]

In an internet review written for About.com, Marcy Dermansky praised the film, saying,

"Loach explores big questions. How does killing a man in cold blood change a person? (Answer: not for the better.) Do the means justify the ends, even when it means killing your friends and family in the name of liberation? (Answer: there is no easy answer.) War is hell, and in no way does The Wind That Shakes the Barley glorify it."[12]

Reception [edit]

The movie became the most popular independent Irish film ever released in Ireland, earning €377,000 in its opening weekend and €2.7 million by August 2006.[1]

The film got a positive reaction from film critics. As of 5 January 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 88% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 102 reviews.[13] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 82 out of 100, based on 30 reviews.[14]

The Daily Telegraph's film critic described it as a "brave, gripping drama" and said that director Loach was "part of a noble and very English tradition of dissent".[15] A Times film critic said that the film showed Loach "at his creative and inflammatory best",[16] and rated it as 4 out of 5. The Daily Record of Scotland gave it a positive review (4 out of 5), describing it as "a dramatic, thought-provoking, gripping tale that, at the very least, encourages audiences to question what has been passed down in dusty history books."[17]

Michael Sragow of The Baltimore Sun named it the 5th best film of 2007,[18] and Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post named it the 7th best film of 2007.[18]

Jim Emerson, Roger Ebert's editor, gave the film a 4 star review, calling it "breathtakingly authentic", and declared it ranked "among the best war films ever made."[19]

The film was attacked by some commentators, some of whom had not seen it, including Simon Heffer.[20] Following the Cannes prize announcement, Unionist historian Ruth Dudley Edwards wrote in the Daily Mail on 30 May 2006 that Loach's political viewpoint "requires the portrayal of the British as sadists and the Irish as romantic, idealistic resistance fighters who take to violence only because there is no other self-respecting course,"[21] and attacked his career in an article that Loach criticized as inaccurate.[22] The following week, Edwards continued her attack in The Guardian, admitting that her first article was written without seeing the film (which at that stage had only been shown at Cannes), and asserting that she would never see it "because I can't stand its sheer predictability."[23] One day after Edwards' initial article appeared, Tim Luckhurst of The Times called the film a "poisonously anti-British corruption of the history of the war of Irish independence" and went so far as to compare Loach to Nazi propagandist director Leni Riefenstahl.[24] Yet George Monbiot revealed on 6 June, also in The Guardian, that the production company had no record of Luckhurst having attended a critics' screening of the as-yet unreleased film, and Luckhurst refused to comment.[25] In a generally positive review, the Irish historian Brian Hanley suggested that the film might have dealt with the IRA's relationship with the Protestant community, as one scene in its screenplay did.[26]

Left-wing commentators in Ireland have long examined the Irish War of Independence as an example of class struggle, as well as nationalism.[27] The film has also re-generated debate on rival interpretations of Irish history.[28][29]

Awards and nominations [edit]

Awards
Award Category Name Outcome
British Independent Film Awards Best Actor Cillian Murphy Nominated
Best British Independent Film Nominated
Best Director Ken Loach Nominated
Best Technical Achievement Barry Ackroyd Nominated
Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Ken Loach Won
European Film Awards Best Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd Won
Best Actor Cillian Murphy Nominated
Best Director Ken Loach Nominated
Best Film Nominated
Best Screenwriter Paul Laverty Nominated
Goya Awards Best European Film Ken Loach Nominated
Irish Film and Television Awards Best Irish Film (Audience Award) Won
Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film Liam Cunningham Won
Best Film Ken Loach Won
Best Actor in a Lead Role in a Feature Film Cillian Murphy Nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film Padraic Delaney Nominated
Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film Orla Fitzgerald Nominated
Breakthrough Talent (actor) Padraic Delaney Nominated
Breakthrough Talent (actress) Orla Fitzgerald Nominated
London Critics Circle Film Awards British Director of the Year Ken Loach Nominated
British Film of the Year Nominated
British Producer of the Year Rebecca O'Brien Nominated
Polish Film Awards Best European Film Ken Loach Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Original Screenplay Paul Laverty Nominated

References [edit]

 This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (December 2012)
  1. ^ a b Loach film breaks Irish box-office records Kerr, Aine. The Irish Times (1921-Current File) [Dublin, Ireland] 08 Aug 2006: 3.
  2. ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Wind That Shakes the Barley". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-12-13. 
  3. ^ News from the UK Film Council UKFilmCouncil.org.uk, 23 April 2007
  4. ^ "Loach Film Sets New Money Mark" RTE.ie, 8 August 2006
  5. ^ Smith, Damon (18 March 2007). "The agitator". The Boston Globe. 
  6. ^ a b "Filming Locations". IMDb. Retrieved 2008-11-23. 
  7. ^ "Kilmainham Gaol". goireland.com. Retrieved 2008-11-23. 
  8. ^ BandOnScouts.com
  9. ^ "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" RespectCoalition.org, 10 June 2006
  10. ^ Quoted at http://www.pslweb.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6647&news_iv_ctrl=1861
  11. ^ 'The Wind That Shakes The Barley' set visit, Jul 18 2005, TimeOut
  12. ^ "The Wind That Shakes The Barley - A Ken Loach Film - Starring Cillian Murphy". Worldfilm.about.com. 2012-04-10. Retrieved 2013-02-19. 
  13. ^ "The Wind That Shakes the Barley - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  14. ^ "Wind That Shakes the Barley, The (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  15. ^ "Powerful - but never preachy" The Daily Telegraph, 23 June 2006
  16. ^ "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" The Times, 22 June 2006
  17. ^ "Troubles and Strife" The Daily Record, 23 June 2006
  18. ^ a b "Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2008-01-02. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  19. ^ Ebert, Roger (April, 2007). "The Wind that Shakes the Barley". rogerebert.com. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
  20. ^ "Come out fighting" The Guardian, 16 June 2006
  21. ^ "Why does Ken Loach loathe his country so much?" The Daily Mail, 30 May 2006
  22. ^ "Ken Loach hits back at English tabloids" Indymedia Ireland, 1 June 2006
  23. ^ "What about making Black and Tans: the movie?" The Guardian, 6 June 2006
  24. ^ "Director in a class of his own" The Times, 31 May 2006
  25. ^ "If we knew more about Ireland, we might never have invaded Iraq" The Guardian, 6 June 2006
  26. ^ "Film Eye: The Wind that Shakes the Barley / Reviews / Issue 5 (Sep/Oct 2006) / Volume 14 /". Historyireland.com. Retrieved 2013-02-19. 
  27. ^ "Film Review: The Wind That Shakes the Barley" indymedia Ireland, 2 July 2006
  28. ^ "The Wind That Shakes the Barley Sends Revisionists Yapping at History's Heels: Ireland's Freedom Struggle and the Foster School of Falsification" Counterpunch.org, 11/12 November 2006
  29. ^ "Cork Examiner, June 26, 2006: Sectarian Wind Up - a defence of The Wind that Shakes the Barley"

External links [edit]

Directorial works of Ken Loach
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