Ireland, 1920. Damien and Teddy are brothers. But while the latter is already the leader of a guerrilla squad fighting for the independence of his motherland, Damien, a medical graduate of University College, would rather further his training at the London hospital where he has found a place. However, shortly before his departure, he happens to witness atrocities committed by the ferocious Black and Tans and finally decides to join the resistance group led by Teddy. The two brothers fight side by side until a truce is signed. But peace is short-lived and when one faction of the freedom-fighters accepts a treaty with the British that is regarded as unfair by the other faction, a civil war ensues, pitting Irishmen against Irishmen, brothers against brothers, Teddy against Damien….
Genre(s): Drama, History, War
Runtime: 127 minutes
Rating: 7.6/10 (14,468 votes)
Release Date: 18 May 2006
Country: Ireland, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France
Languages: English, Irish Gaelic
Company: BIM Distribuzione
Sound: Dolby Digital
Director(s): Ken Loach
Producer(s):
Camilla Bray – assistant producer
Ulrich Felsberg – executive producer
Andrew Lowe – executive producer
Redmond Morris – co-producer
Rebecca O'Brien – producer
Nigel Thomas – executive producer
Paul Trijbits – executive producer
Writer(s):
Paul Laverty – writer
Cast:
Cillian Murphy – Damien
Padraic Delaney – Teddy (as Pádraic Delaney)
Liam Cunningham – Dan
Orla Fitzgerald – Sinead
Mary O'Riordan – Peggy (as Mary Riordan)
Mary Murphy – Bernadette
Laurence Barry – Micheail
Damien Kearney – Finbar
Frank Bourke – Leo
Myles Horgan – Rory
Music: George Fenton
Tagline: Winner of the PALME D'OR at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
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Ken Loach is well known for never transitioning to mainstream Hollywoodas many of his contemporaries have, thus it was no surprise to me whenI heard about the alleged controversy surrounding this film.
Set In Ireland 1920, the film deals with the unrest that stemmedbetween the Irish guerrillas fighting for a free Ireland against theBritish. The film portrays a rather sympathetic view of these fighters,although the characters are indeed well developed – Cillian Murphy isparticularly excellent (a big step up from the rather banal 'Red Eye')A powerful story of two brothers journey to find freedom in a part ofhistory that is often forgotten due to its close proximity to the endof World War I; the injustices and terror that plagued thousands ofinnocent Irish people as Britain tried to keep its tenure on theEmpire.
I can see why many English people would find this film offensive;virtually every English character, especially the soldiers areone-dimensional monsters that beat, rape and kill without mercy andthat is perhaps my only grips with the film. Yet I can see why it wasdone – to highlight in the rawest possible way the atrocities that werecommitted during this time period.
However, Loach does well in portraying the confusion that builds upwithin the Irish protesters, especially once the treaty whichestablished Northern Ireland is signed, the best scenes of the filmindeed exploit this confusion and what is considered traitorous acts orwhat is 'needed to be done'.
Overall, the film is a powerful story that is shot and told very well,the acting is solid and characters well developed. The film also wonthe Palme d'Or at Cannes 2006 so it is encouraging that people lookedpast the only negative of the film (that of the one-dimensional Englishapart from a select few) and saw the story for the powerful andemotional journey that it is.
It is 1920, and Damien O'Donovan (Murphy), a young doctor, is about toleave Ireland to work in a London hospital. Meanwhile, his brotherTeddy (Delaney) commands the local flying column of the IrishRepublican Army. After a hurling match, Damien witnesses the fatalbeating of his friend, Micheaíl Ó Súillebheán, by Britishparamilitaries. Although shaken, Damien rebuffs his friends' entreatiesto stay in Ireland and fight for independence, saying that the IRA istoo outnumbered to win. However, as he is boarding a train, Damienwitnesses the British Army assaulting a railway official for refusingto allow the troops to board and the subsequent brave resistance of thetrain driver, and this leads him to change his plans. He is sworn intothe IRA and joins Teddy in a guerrilla war against the British.
Determined to retaliate for Micheail's murder, Damien and his IRAbrigade raid the local police barracks and steal guns. Then they ambushthe Auxiliaries, gunning down four of them in a pub. In the aftermath,Anglo-Irish landowner Sir John Hamilton (Roger Allam) coerces one ofhis servants, IRA member Chris Reilly (John Crean), into informing. Asa result, the entire brigade is arrested by the British Army. In theircell, Damien meets the train driver, Dan (Liam Cunningham), and learnsthat the union activist shares his socialist opinions. The Britishinterrogators rip out brigade leader Teddy's fingernails when herefuses to name names. Hearing his cries from their nearby cells,Damien and the other prisoners sing the Irish national anthem todistract Teddy from his pain. A young British soldier of Irish descentsoon helps all but three of the prisoners escape.
After the involvement of Sir John and Chris is revealed to the IRA,both are taken hostage and marched to a cottage in the mountains. AsTeddy is still recovering, Damien is temporarily placed in command.After the torture and execution of the three IRA prisoners, the Brigadereceives orders to "execute the spies." Despite the fact that ChrisReilly is a lifelong friend, a rattled Damien shoots both hostages witha revolver. Later, he tells his sweetheart, Cuman na mBan messagerunner Sinéad Sullivan (Orla Fitzgerald), about the shame of facingChris Reilly's mother, concluding, "I can't feel anything." AfterDamien and Teddy's unit ambushes and defeats an armed convoy of theAuxiliary Division, another detachment of "Auxies" attacks and burnsthe farmhouse of Sinéad's family. Sinéad is held at gunpoint while herhead is shaved and bloodied with sheep shears. Low on ammunition,Damien is restrained by Teddy and can only watch. Later, as Damiencomforts Sinéad, a messenger arrives with news of a formal ceasefirebetween Britain and the IRA. During a village celebration, Damien andSinéad steal away for a sexual interlude.
When the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty are announced, the IRA dividesover whether or not to accept it. Teddy argues for the Treaty andpeace, asserting that David Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister,risked his political career by offering the terms he did. Damienopposes the Treaty for failing to deliver full independence fromBritain. Dan further argues that the Treaty will only change "theaccents of the powerful and colour of the flag." As the Irish FreeState grows stronger, Damien and his Anti-Treaty comrades feel a senseof alienation. When Teddy arrives in his new Irish Army officer'suniform, one of Damien's friends dubs him a "gombeen man." Later, whenthe village priest preaches in favor of the Free State, Damieninterrupts his sermon, denounces the Treaty, and storms out followed byhalf the congregation. He affiliates himself with the Anti-Treaty IRAand begins training teen-aged recruits in guerrilla warfare.
On the verge of war with his own brother, Teddy reaches out to Damienand asserts that the farmers and businessmen of the district are scaredof the socialist rhetoric in his Anti-Treaty pamphlets. Damien respondsby saying that the poor are being mistreated and that only socialismcan stem the tide of emigration. Teddy asserts that the Free State will"tear up the Treaty as soon as we're strong enough…" Damien saysthat, by swearing an oath of allegiance to King George V of England,Teddy has wrapped himself in the Union Jack, "the Butcher's Apron."After the first battle of the Irish Civil War breaks out in Dublin,Damien and his men commence hit-and-run tactics against the new IrishArmy. Soon after, Damien is captured during a raid for arms on a FreeState barracks and is sentenced to death. As he awaits the firing squadin the same cell where the British had imprisoned them earlier, Teddypays him a visit. He describes his dream of building a free Irelandwhere they can both raise families in peace. Teddy pleads with Damiento reveal where the IRA is hiding the stolen arms, offering him fullamnesty in exchange. Damien refuses, saying that he killed Chris Reillyfor being an informer. Writing a goodbye letter to Sinéad, Damiendeclares his love for her, adding that he knows what he stands for andthat he is not afraid.
At dawn, Damien is marched before a firing squad. As both men fightback tears, Teddy gives the order and the squad fires. Weeping, Teddyunties Damien's body and cradles his brother in his arms. When Teddydelivers Damien's letter to Sinéad, she angrily orders him to leave.Overcome with grief, she falls to her knees, and screams Damien's name.
I was disappointed in this film. I had seen and admired some films ofKen Loach's before, but didn't make the connection. Elsewhere in thecritiques of this film, one viewer derides the idea of providingEnglish subtitles for a film nominally made in English. I disagreetotally. If the dialogue is as mumbled, heavily accented and as poorlyrecorded as it was in The Wind that Shakes the Barley, it becomesdifficult to follow the story. There was nothing wrong with the acting,unless you count the deliberately improvisational "naturalistic"delivery that always winds up sounding, to me, like actors improvising.Phony. Maybe if there had been subtitles I wouldn't have had to searchfor familiar syllables amongst the brogues. The story itself isworthwhile, in that it presents the same conflicts as The Informer andMichael Collins, but does so in terms of a small group of people inrural Ireland, and two brothers in particular. I was looking forward tothe story; I got it, but missed a lot of the dialogue.
There was one other minor issue that stuck out early in the film,possibly because of a lousy editing job: A group of men, at night,quietly pulls up beside the police barracks; one gets out and plants alarge bomb against the stable(garage) door. He lights the fuse, thenmoves to another large door and is setting up a second bomb when he isinterrupted, and the gang is forced to storm the barracks. The firstbomb never goes off. I was waiting for it. Nothing happened.
Having a lot of Irish friends I personally see that this is still asensitive issue for a lot of people. And it is just mind boggling howmuch many people don't know about things like this. People say this isa Irish Braveheart rip off which I find ridiculous, it's history, youcan't rip off facts. And even if it wasn't true, this film just leavesyou in awe of a nation's struggle to be free.
The script was real, the location was beautiful, the directing wasmarvelously done & well the acting, there aren't many words, the onlyactor in this that I know of is Cillian Murphy but I will get to him…Padraic Delaney who plays his brother in the movie did an amazing job,they didn't have much screen time together but the scenes they do shareyou never doubt the love & bond & later betrayal between brothers. OrlaFitzgerald who plays the love interest Sinead, her performance movedme, I don't know what else I can really say. Now for Cillian Murphy Whohappens to be one of my favorite actors, well for me he just hits home.I think this guy is on the road to becoming one of the greats, we don'tknow much about him as a person, but all the great actors and actressesknew how to keep their private life private & just made movies becausethey loved it, & you can see that in everything he does, it is just ajoy to watch… His performance in this movie was for me mind blowing &it touched me very much.
It's a true story that people should know more about. Beautifly told,and amazingly put on screen between the director, the set, & theactors. It was just a great, devastating movie.