Wind That Shakes The Barley

[RebelDog]

Ken Loach directed 'The Wind That Shakes the Barley' about the struggle for freedom in Ireland set in the 1920's has premiered at Cannes. If its anything like his other films it will be great. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

http://film.guardian.co.uk/apnews/story/0,,-5830106,00.html

[RebelDog]

Sorry for posting this topic 3 times. Something went wrong.

[celtopunk]

I just came across this on imdb and was going to post about it but then I saw your three posts.

But yeah I'm looking forward to seeing this. I remember going to see "Hidden Agenda" with two friends. I think there was one maybe two other people in the theater, a real shame.

[ComradeOm]

The Wind That Shakes The Barley is an Irish film that portrays the war of independence from Britain and has just won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. This is the most prestigious film festival in the world and the decision of the judges was unanimous. So its safe to assume that it’s a damn good film… not according to the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5026620.stm).

Calling it "weak" and "one-dimensional" the Beeb claims that the film only won because of the similarities with the current situation in Iraq. Bullshit. So as long as there’s war in the Middle East we’re not allowed to discuss the brutal oppression of Ireland for centuries? The entire point of the film was to express the reality of occupied Ireland! What did the reviewer want – a nice sympathetic Brit torturing the people with kindness?

Usually I’m a fan of the BBC but it appears that even then they are not averse to jingoistic blindness.

[PRC-UTE]

A lot of Brits still deny that Ireland was and is oppressed by England. England's so jingonistic that they're scared of the eu.

[The Grey Blur]

I'm gonna try and get all of Socialist Youth to head to this

Should be class

[PRC-UTE]

Originally posted by Permanent [email protected] 4 2006, 11:13 PM
I'm gonna try and get all of Socialist Youth to head to this

Should be class
I can't imagine that crowd enjoying it.

[The Grey Blur]

Originally posted by REPOMAN+Jun 5 2006, 12:52 AM--> (REPOMAN @ Jun 5 2006, 12:52 AM)
Permanent [email protected] 4 2006, 11:13 PM
I'm gonna try and get all of Socialist Youth to head to this

Should be class
I can't imagine that crowd enjoying it. [/b]
Well the massed hordes of the RSYM can come as well

:P

[Metta]

The BBC banned the Police song 'Invisible Sun'. They're very touchy about the Irish issue.

[celtopunk]

The BBC, the broadcasting wing of the British government, has a long standing tradition of censorship and misinformation when it comes to the situation in Ireland as well as other places where the government's hands are covered in blood.

[Sugar Hill Kevis]

I really want to see this... it would seem the Guardian (supposedly along with the Independent, but I havn't read their review) is the only newspaper in the country not to have bad mouthed this film...

It must be wonderful

[PRC-UTE]

Film Review The wind that shakes the barley

Directed by Ken Loach

Release date June 24

Ken Loach's new contribution to 'Irish' cinema received the highest accolade for a film, the Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival last Sunday. It was justly deserved.

In The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Loach tackles the Tan War and the Civil War warts and all, no holds barred. The brutality, the viciousness of those wars is there for all to see, for all to take sides. In a faithful portrayal of life in rural Cork during those momentous years, Loach manages to get across the heartache, the pain, the comradeship, the betrayals, the loyalty, the sacrifices that ordinary men and women made for the cause of Irish freedom, then and obviously since.

This is about the mothers, sisters, brothers, friends and comrades, the ordinary men and women who lived with the consequences of their decision to challenge the might of the British Empire in the "hope this Ireland we are fighting for is worth it", and how they dreamed that it wasn't just a fight for a green flag replacing the Butcher's Apron.

The stark brutality of the British war machine in Ireland is vividly captured- the torture, gratuitous violence and vindictiveness of previously demobbed English soldiers who had survived the Somme but who had been brutalised by the experience, let down by their government on their return from the front, and many who were just plain depraved.

The cast, through their great performances, brought to life many of the aspects of the revolution of that period that are forgotten in most other retellings of the era, which almost exclusively concentrate on the military aspect of the war.

The Dáil Courts, the courageous stance of rail workers refusing to transport British soldiers or their munitions across the country, the land seizures and conflicts, the role of the ascendancy landlords, the confusing world of the informer, the intensity of the reprisals are all part of the patchwork of this powerful film.

It is a film that some will not like. Fine Gael Senator and anti-republican mouthpiece Brian Hayes watched the special showing at the same time as myself. He was not impressed. It didn't show the politics of the time, he said later. Obviously he watched a different film to me. His discomfort with the film and its accurate portrayal of war and revolution in Ireland in the 1920s should be endorsement enough for republicans to go see it when it hits the cinemas here.

This is a film, not a documentary, but it will cause a welcome, honest debate on what happened in that era will explain a lot about today's society North and South.

The film explains quite well how the money, the Church and the reactionaries lined up together with the support of the British to defeat the Republic in 1922.

For republicans, nationalists, unionists, West Brits, students of Irish history, those interested in conflict, those interested in a good, action-packed movie this is a must see film. It highlights how ordinary men were shaped into soldiers by extraordinary circumstances, how republicans enjoyed the electoral and tacit support of the community. The storyline weaves the history of the time around the lives of young men and women in a County Cork village and how the events of the time moulded them, in particular two brothers who end up at opposing ends of guns during the Civil War.

It movingly portrays the sadness and hurt of war and it doesn't shy away from showing the cruel deeds which war necessitated on the republican side. It is an honest and impressive piece of work from a director who is regarded as controversial because he depicts events from a different angle- that of the underdog. Enjoy!

BY AENGUS Ó SNODAIGH

[Conghaileach]

I saw the film last night, and I can say with absolutely no reservation that it is one of the best, most powerful films I have ever seen. Politically speaking, the filmmakers have done a great job in boiling Ireland's national liberation struggle down to the class questions at its very core.

If the film is able to create debate on questions of partition, the Celtic Tiger, aiding Anglo-American imperialism abroad (as well as the tacit support for the occupation in North-East Ireland), then it has done its job in Ireland.

If the film can get people in England, and possibly the US as well, to question the continuing imperialist nature of those countries, and the brutality and dehumanising effects of imperialism and colonialism, then it has succeeded amazingly.

[RebelDog]

George Monbiot attacks the reactionary media you are attacking Loach;

http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2006/06/06...ions-brutalise/ (http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2006/06/06/occupations-brutalise/)

[Free Left]

OMFG! Screw Simon Heffer!

This is what he said:
And no, I haven’t seen it, any more than I need to read Mein Kampf to know what a louse Hitler was.”(

He is (indirectly) comparing Irish freedom fighting to Fascism!

[RebelDog]

I saw it the other night, it was brilliant. It lived up to all my expectations. All members on this board should see it as its very much from the socialist point of view. A classic.

[Free Left]

I saw it the other night, it was brilliant. It lived up to all my expectations. All members on this board should see it as its very much from the socialist point of view. A classic

I just realised it's a rip-off of The Scorching Wind by (the awesome) Walter Macken!!!

Still a good film....

[Delta]

I just downloaded it and started to watch it. I'm gonna have to wait to finish it until I can get english subtitles though :rolleyes:

[PRC-UTE]

Originally posted by [email protected] 25 2006, 11:01 PM
I just downloaded it and started to watch it. I'm gonna have to wait to finish it until I can get english subtitles though :rolleyes:
What do you mean? have trouble with the irish accent or are there scenes in gaeilge?

[gilhyle]

Ken Loach's film 'Family Life' was a major influence on my life - I have a huge respect for his work from 66-84.

Since then his work has become sentimental and one dimensional. I kinda respect that - when class struggle was vigorous in the UK, he was good film maker, as class struggle declined so did his cinema.

I will go to this film in the hope but not the expectation of a film as good as looks and Smiles or his documentary o the miners strike of 26 or any of the other great films he mdae all the way back to Cathy Come Home.

[Delta]

Originally posted by PRC-UTE+Aug 25 2006, 04:56 PM--> (PRC-UTE @ Aug 25 2006, 04:56 PM)
[email protected] 25 2006, 11:01 PM
I just downloaded it and started to watch it. I'm gonna have to wait to finish it until I can get english subtitles though :rolleyes:
What do you mean? have trouble with the irish accent or are there scenes in gaeilge? [/b]
Yes, very heavy Irish accent.

[The Grey Blur]

:lol: At the above post

I really enjoyed this film, even went to see it twice. It just captures perfectly the Socialist themes that were inherent in the War of Independence and is definitely a question-poser for Brits, Americans and all other citizens of Imperialist nations today.

[Global_Justice]

DON'T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM :P

i really like this film. although i think it could have handled the civil war parts a bit better. it didn't really explain it that well IMO. just sort of goes straight from the signing of the treaty, then they sort of argue about it, then he gets arrested and killed. but then again, if they went into more detail then it would be way too long.

[The Grey Blur]

just sort of goes straight from the signing of the treaty, then they sort of argue about it, then he gets arrested and killed. but then again, if they went into more detail then it would be way too long.
You've just spoiled the ending of the film :lol:

[Donnie]

Well I'm off to see Ken Loachs new film which is called "Wind That Shakes The Barley" with my old man.

The films is very pro Irish Nationalist and very anti-english.

Even though the films probably just a bunch of Nationalist twoddle I bet it'll be a good'en.

Here is the synopsis:

"Ireland 1920: Workers from field and country to form volunteer guirella armies to face the ruthless "Black and Tan Squads" that are being shipped from Britain to block Irelands bid for independence."

Wind That Shakes The Barley (http://www.thewindthatshakesthebarley.co.uk/)

Damien (Cillian Murphy) is about to leave Ireland for his medical studies in London while his brother Teddy is an active IRA member. After witnessing an act of resistance to the daily violence of the Black and Tans, he decides however that it is worth fighting back and joins the IRA in a guerilla war against British paramilitary forces. When the peace treaty is agreed, the two brothers find themselves pitted against one another.

I'm to see it in a few hours, I'll post a comment with feedback on what I thought about it.

I'll mostly get irritated by the feverant nationalism through ought it, lol. Argh, death to religion!

[Global_Justice]

Originally posted by Permanent [email protected] 27 2006, 09:37 PM

just sort of goes straight from the signing of the treaty, then they sort of argue about it, then he gets arrested and killed. but then again, if they went into more detail then it would be way too long.
You've just spoiled the ending of the film :lol:
i editied it :P

[Global_Justice]

there is a thread just below this on the film already :P

i wouldn't say it's very nationalist

[The Grey Blur]

Originally posted by [email protected] 28 2006, 04:33 PM
i wouldn't say it's very nationalist
Definitely not

[Donnie]

Went to see it thought it was a good film.

My old man went on a right class rant, lol. I agreed with mostly what he said.

Went that kid gets shot for blagging to the local Black and Tan of who the IRA men were everyone was shockeed in the audience, my dads reply was

"serve's the twat right for dobbing on his comrades".

I said to my old man "could they just not expell him from the organisation?" Dad replied "Know's the faces, they had no choice".

Fuck me, least I know my dad isn't a traitor.

Although my dad didn't agree with the whole nationalist stuff that was in it. He agree's and I agree that only International working class solidarity can solve imperialism and colonialist domination.

Safe
x

[Global_Justice]

Originally posted by [email protected] 28 2006, 09:46 PM
Went to see it thought it was a good film.

My old man went on a right class rant, lol. I agreed with mostly what he said.

Went that kid gets shot for blagging to the local Black and Tan of who the IRA men were everyone was shockeed in the audience, my dads reply was

"serve's the twat right for dobbing on his comrades".

I said to my old man "could they just not expell him from the organisation?" Dad replied "Know's the faces, they had no choice".

Fuck me, least I know my dad isn't a traitor.

Although my dad didn't agree with the whole nationalist stuff that was in it. He agree's and I agree that only International working class solidarity can solve imperialism and colonialist domination.

Safe
x
my dads a socialist aswell. when i started getting interested in it and talking to him about it, it sort of rekindled his political ideals that had faded over the years.

[rioters bloc]

i got two free tickets to see an advance screening on friday, w00t for working for independent media ;)

[Invader Zim]

Originally posted by [email protected] 2 2006, 08:30 PM
So its safe to assume that it’s a damn good film…


So its safe to assume that it’s a damn good film…

No, not at all. The Cannes grand prize is regularly given to good or mediocre films, while ignoring excellent films. Take 1996 for example; Breaking the Waves won, but the much better film Fargo only got best director.

Cannes regularly does this, indeed the best film I have seen which has won the grand prize in the last 10 years is 'Old boy' which is a master piece.


The BBC, the broadcasting wing of the British government, has a long standing tradition of censorship and misinformation when it comes to the situation in Ireland as well as other places where the government's hands are covered in blood.

I suppose you have never heard of Andrew Gilligan, Alastair Campbell, David Kelly, Lord Hutton, Greg Dyke and the 'sexed up dossier'.

I suggest you get a clue before posting ever again.

[atlas]

I'm testing torrents for it now. ;)

[The Grey Blur]

Originally posted by Invader [email protected] 29 2006, 02:13 PM
I suggest you get a clue before posting ever again.
So you're saying that the BBC never censored news on Ireland or in other places?

They used to dub over Gerry Adams' voice ffs :lol:

[Aurora]

I think he was saying that they dont always side with the government


They used to dub over Gerry Adams' voice ffs
:lol: thats true.To do with maggie i believe.


Dad replied "Know's the faces, they had no choice".
Good man

[PRC-UTE]

Originally posted by Permanent Revolution+Aug 29 2006, 09:29 PM--> (Permanent Revolution @ Aug 29 2006, 09:29 PM)
Invader [email protected] 29 2006, 02:13 PM
I suggest you get a clue before posting ever again.
So you're saying that the BBC never censored news on Ireland or in other places?

They used to dub over Gerry Adams' voice ffs :lol: [/b]
just ignore the brit chauvinist troll

[Invader Zim]

Originally posted by PRC-UTE+Aug 30 2006, 01:51 AM--> (PRC-UTE @ Aug 30 2006, 01:51 AM)
Originally posted by Permanent [email protected] 29 2006, 09:29 PM

Invader [email protected] 29 2006, 02:13 PM
I suggest you get a clue before posting ever again.
So you're saying that the BBC never censored news on Ireland or in other places?

They used to dub over Gerry Adams' voice ffs :lol:
just ignore the brit chauvinist troll [/b]
I see the nationalistic xenophobe is at large.

Still bleating that the PIRA is a wondeful organisation; that aren't, despite the mountains of evidence, aren't just another gang of criminal capitalists no better than the mob?

[Invader Zim]

Originally posted by Permanent Revolution+Aug 29 2006, 10:29 PM--> (Permanent Revolution @ Aug 29 2006, 10:29 PM)
Invader [email protected] 29 2006, 02:13 PM
I suggest you get a clue before posting ever again.
So you're saying that the BBC never censored news on Ireland or in other places?

They used to dub over Gerry Adams' voice ffs :lol: [/b]
No, i'm saying that the BBC doesn't always side with the government.

[Djehuti]

It is not pro-nationalist, it is pro-republican. The free staters were nationalists, those who voted anti-treaty were (often socialist) republicans.

It is very simiar to his other movie, Land and Freedom.

[Djehuti]

Torrent:
http://www.torrentportal.com/torrents-details.php?id=657907

[Jimmy Jazz]

Originally posted by [email protected] 3 2006, 09:43 PM
It is not pro-nationalist, it is pro-republican. The free staters were nationalists, those who voted anti-treaty were (often socialist) republicans.

It is very simiar to his other movie, Land and Freedom.
I agree with you. There are several sequences that remind me of Land and Freedom. Especially when they are discussing about the treatry after the truce was signed. Both films have the same structure.