Review of The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) by Doug F — 31 May 2009

This was a hard rating.

It has a rocky start, and not due to content. On the contrary, it opens with a game of cricket, followed by British soldiers beating one of the players to death for 1) playing the game and 2) refusing to give his name in English. The big problem was that the dialogue was so hard to understand at first, and that can alienate an audience (especially if they're teens). But the film is really engrossing and dares you to rethink the IRA. Geez, I can't believe I wrote that...but it's true. This movie is about independence and how fighting hard for something can change and divide you. One final note, with a minor spoiler: near the end, the British are willing to make South Ireland a "free state" so long as it remains a Dominion under the crown...like what us in Canada are. A good portion of the IRA reject this, as they wanted independence, not a puppet state run by a Governor-General. It's sad because although I totally see their point of view, with Canadian, Australian, Indian (and more) history as an example, I know that a Governor-General is near powerless and that this was really a great deal. But that's hindsight bias, and this is getting to be a long review. So...Cillian Murphy rocks.