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"The Wind That Shakes the Barley" -- saw it yesterday afternoon and...


...it most definitely is not my idea of a matinee movie. I went straight home, no daylight fun to be had after-theatre. Nothing I had heard about it quite prepared me for grand opera, but there it was: Carmen writ large, even down to a band of criminals and lots of cigarettes. And like that opera, at the very end it wasn't a pretty sight.

Fortunately I had already visited the River Street Whole Paycheck Market -- one of the great grocery stores -- and was in a good mood, having dropped only half the usual $30 on expensive stuff I don't really need. Further, having found an immediate parking in crowded Cambridge, I had repaired to the nearby Cambridge Brewing Company for a Spring Training IPA, my own modest version of shaking the barley.

Now the film: superb, naturalistic ensemble acting -- effortless direction -- rumpled costumes (I admire authenticity) -- non-obvious makeup even on the ladies! -- fluid cutting a la Children of Men -- and speechifying that to my ear worked beautifully and movingly.

Yes, Barley is very much a talkie. But the level of discourse is akin to America's own Federalist Papers and various revolutionary war documents, and on topics not far removed: How do a people make themselves free, and what do they do with that freedom once it's achieved?

Some may call that "politics"; a far better word would be "statesmanship". The debates as staged are exciting and complex, with both sides given ample opportunity to express themselves. By that I mean, the Irish who since the 1916 Easter Rising want total independence and the Irish who plump for the proffered truce with Britain.

The latter win the day, and therein lies an instance of murky plotting: Quite suddenly one of the two brothers we've gotten to know, along with several compadres, appears in uniform. That's a bit of unprepared jolt.

Already I mentioned Children of Men; along with The Lives of Others, The Wind That Shakes the Barley forms a grand trilogy of movies about the proper role of the State; nor are we likely for many years to see three such great films in a row as these.

And there I was, on Easter Day, put in mind of the Irish.

clark


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Topic - "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" -- saw it yesterday afternoon and... - clarkjohnsen 13:23:46 04/09/07 (1)

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