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The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Ken Loach won the Palme dβOr for this gripping, beautifully filmed account of two Cork brothers who join the struggle for Irish independence in the 1920s.
Director: Ken Loach
Overview
After witnessing the death of his friend at the hands of the Black and Tans, Damien (Cillian Murphy) heads to the hills to join the local IRA brigade. But soon after, when the Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed, the groupβs unity is threatened by division and the realities of political compromise.
Highly controversial when it was released, Ken Loachβs film was denounced the moment it won Cannesβ top prize by critics (most of whom hadnβt seen it) who imagined it as a British film glorifying Irish republicanism. In fact Loachβs preoccupation is to recast Irish nationalism as a social movement whose progressive ideals were forced to the margins as conflict took precedence. The power of Loachβs film resides in the fact that, unlike other films on the Irish independence, the director focuses on the breath-taking natural beauty of the country they are fighting for.
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