The Wind That Shakes The Barley

**lopez** · 31/05/2006, 1:20 PM

Ken Loach's film about the War of Independence won the Cannes Palm d'or on Sunday. Already it's been attracting excellent reviews in the British press. The Scum's asked: 'Is this the most pro-IRA film ever?' while well known Orange Order groupie, Ruth Traitor Edwards, wonders why Ken Loach 'loaths his country so much?', a question I must add I'd like to ask Orange Ruth if I ever get the opportunity.

**Dassa** · 31/05/2006, 1:50 PM

Been pretty heavily criticised not for its political content but for just being quite a poor film especially in USA.

**as_i_say** · 31/05/2006, 2:10 PM

what does the loath ones country comment mean in respect of the film- which presumably nobody here has seen?

**WeAreRovers** · 31/05/2006, 2:41 PM

Originally Posted by lopez

a question I must add I'd like to ask Orange Ruth if I ever get the opportunity.

Nice one. Dudley-Edwards is the very epitome of self-loathing.

KOH

**lopez** · 31/05/2006, 2:53 PM

Apparently, again quoting from The Scum, it's pedestrian and historically inaccurate. Not like Hollywood to use 'artistic licence' in biopics or historical films.

Anyway, the burning of houses, killing of innocent civilians and general sadistic behaviour of the Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries is hardly 'historically inaccurate.'

Loach has made some excellent films in the past, my favourite being 'Land and Freedom', despite being a basic rip-off of Orwell's Homage To Catalonia: Lad joins the Marxist POUM, lad gets injured firing a dodgy rifle, lad eventually returns to find the POUM run (or should that be ruined) by Uncle Joe's agents. Orange Ruth made the observation that this film was as much an attack on Stalin as it was on fascism without letting us know if this was a compliment or a criticism of Loach.

If he's made a pile of cr*p this time, fair enough. It sounds to me though, as with Michael Collins, that any film that doesn't demonise the war of independence is little more than a rattling can for the provos to the usual suspects. Anyway I was going to watch the film regardless as my wife's step dad worked on it (He also worked on 'A Song For a Raggy Boy' which if you remember wasn't too complementary about Industrial schools or the RC church). The fact that it's managed to p*ss off so much of the British right and their lackeys in the 26C makes it a 'must see' for me.

Originally Posted by as_i_say

what does the loath ones country comment mean in respect of the film- which presumably nobody here has seen?

Orange Ruth's argument in yesterday's Daily Moan was that Loach making a film that doesn't portray the British Empire in the glorious light that it truly deserves suggests he 'loaths his country.'

**Block G Raptor** · 31/05/2006, 3:10 PM

From What ive Heard about it it parrallels britains occupation of Iraq and shows the devaluation of the lives off the occupied peoples in the eyes of the occupation forces

**Strabane_Harp** · 31/05/2006, 3:35 PM

Originally Posted by Dassa

Been pretty heavily criticised not for its political content but for just being quite a poor film especially in USA.

Dunno wat reviews youve been readin, but its been gettin excellent ones everywhere but the british tabloids

**Mad Moose** · 31/05/2006, 3:50 PM

Originally Posted by Block G Raptor

From What ive Heard about it it parrallels britains occupation of Iraq and shows the devaluation of the lives off the occupied peoples in the eyes of the occupation forces

Heard the same as the basis for its release at this time. And that very much parallels.

B

**Dassa** · 31/05/2006, 4:16 PM

Originally Posted by Strabane_Harp

Dunno wat reviews youve been readin, but its been gettin excellent ones everywhere but the british tabloids

Read in either Sun or Mirror that some Americans at Cannes had stated that the film was poor. Not good enough for award.

**tetsujin1979** · 31/05/2006, 4:22 PM

Originally Posted by Dassa

Read in either Sun or Mirror that some Americans at Cannes had stated that the film was poor. Not good enough for award.

It got a unanimous decision from the jury, were there any Americans on it?

**Dassa** · 31/05/2006, 4:25 PM

i dont think they were judges, just whatever the paper said Ill look see if I can find it.

**cheifo** · 31/05/2006, 5:11 PM

Did Ken Loach make secret and lies? Good film.The wind that shakes the barley apparantly also shows the horror of the civil war so RDE"s criticism seems inaccurate.Calling her a traitor is something she would wallow in-a letter to the Sindo pointing out how obsurd her hypocrisy is would be good.

**Strabane_Harp** · 31/05/2006, 6:58 PM

Samuel L Jackson was a judge

i wouldnt be surprised at some americans feeling uncomfortable watching it, might remind them of Iraq and how they are the new british empire, as if the world wanted another

**Hither green** · 01/06/2006, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by Strabane_Harp

Dunno wat reviews youve been readin, but its been gettin excellent ones everywhere but the british tabloids

In fairness I've read/seen a few iffy reviews too. The Beeb's review was mixed, as were a couple of reviews I saw on tv. They didn't say it wasn't a good film, just that there were better films, more worthy of the award.

Still looking forward to it though. Can't work out why it's not being released until end of the month, as it's finished and not an American film.

**Jerry The Saint** · 01/06/2006, 11:01 AM

Cannes likes to make itself look edgy and the juries tend to go for films with political and/or "controversial" messages like Elephant or, most obviously, Fahrenheit 9/11.

In that way, it's surprising that this was Loach's first win. He was certainly overdue which may well have had a big impact on the decision.

Here's the jury in full

Kar Wai Wong (Hong Kong) (president); Monica Bellucci (Italy); Helena Bonham Carter (UK); Lucrecia Martel (Argentina); Ziyi Zhang (China); Samuel L. Jackson (USA); Patrice Leconte (France); Tim Roth (UK); Elia Suleiman (Palestinia);

**dancinpants** · 01/06/2006, 4:19 PM

From bbc.co.uk

British director Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes The Barley has won the Palme d'Or - the top prize at the Cannes film festival.
The film, about Ireland's struggle for independence, beat 19 others to the prestigious prize.

Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, who led the jury, said his panel had looked for films which reflected "compassion, hope, bonding and solidarity".

Other jurors included actors Tim Roth, Samuel L Jackson and Monica Belluci.

Wong said the jury's decision had been a unanimous one.

British actress Helena Bonham Carter, who was also on the jury, said Loach's film "hit us all profoundly".

"It was one of five films about war and it was a fantastic education about the Irish problem," she added.

"There was a tremendous humanity. I can't explain our mass reaction but we were all profoundly moved."

'Wonderful festival'

Loach, 69, has said the film, which describes the early days of the IRA in the 1920s from an Irish perspective, is also a critique of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

"Maybe if we tell the truth about the past, maybe we tell the truth about the present," he said as he accepted the award.

"Our film is a little, a very little step in the British confronting their imperialist history," he said.

28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy leads the cast, which also includes Padraic Delaney, Liam Cunningham and Orla Fitzgerald.

Loach has been nominated for the Palme d'Or on seven previous occasions, but this is the first time he has won the main prize. He won the jury prize in 1990 for Hidden Agenda, about a British army shoot-to-kill policy in Northern Ireland. His is the first UK film to win the Palme d'Or since Mike Leigh's Secrets and Lies in 1996...

**Aberdonian Stu** · 02/06/2006, 11:28 AM

Secrets and Lies was directed by Mike Leigh, not Loach.

Loach's past work includes Ae Fond Kiss, Sweet Sixteen, Bread and Roses and Land and Freedom.

Check out his IMDB profile

**lopez** · 04/06/2006, 4:30 PM

One question I was thinking of asking was what the 'Irish' equivalents of these rags wrote about the film. The answer came in today's SIndo which said that the Oirish Scum gave the Cannes win a favourable double page spread with a headline that the film gave its rivals a good 'tanning' (geddit?). However the Sunday Blueshirt, while quoting the Mail correspondent who asked why Loach 'loathed' Britain, it neglected to name the journalist's name(it did name the Scum reporter, Neil McAdam). Hopefully that was a mistake and nothing to do with the fact that Ruth just happens to be a regular contributor of vitriol in the Blueshirt to all things mildly nationalistic.

**geysir** · 04/06/2006, 6:16 PM

Originally Posted by Dassa

Been pretty heavily criticised not for its political content but for just being quite a poor film especially in USA.

explained as

Read in either Sun or Mirror that some Americans at Cannes had stated that the film was poor. Not good enough for award.

That's a rather thin base from which to describe it as " pretty heavily criticised".

I have heard nothing but good reviews from film critics both American and British who have seen the film. Even a grudgingly good one from the Telegraph critic at Cannes.
Film critics usually don't like the medium of a film used for broadcasting a political debate or message. As in the argument about collectives in "Land and Freedom" or the speech offering insight into British intelligence in "Hidden Agenda". The others who are uncomfortable about the political overtones usually will focus on "well it condones the use of violence" or "it's not historically accurate".
I heard Loach in an Rte interview say that he would not have known what side to take in the Civil War as both sides had valid arguments. He put the responsibility of the war on the terms of the treaty, not near enough for one extreme and just about enough for the other. I'm looking forward to seeing it.