Wind That Shakes the Barley

Theatrical Release Date: 2007 03 16 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 796019802529

Studio: IFC

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations]

Summary: Two brothers are caught on differing sides of the battle for Irish freedom in this politically minded historical drama from veteran British filmmaker Ken Loach. It's 1920, and Damien O'Donovan (Cillian Murphy) has recently graduated from medical school. Damien plans to leave the small village in Ireland where he was born to take a job in London, much to the annoyance of his brother Teddy (Padraic Delaney), who is an Irish loyalist and wants to see the British stripped of their rule of his land. While visiting Peggy (Mary Riordan), a longtime friend of the family, Damien and Teddy witness a visit by "Black and Tans," British soldiers who supposedly keep the peace in Ireland; the soldiers turn violent and murder Michaeil (Lawrence Barry), Peggy's grandson, when they discover he only speaks Gaelic. Damien is radicalized by the event, and with Teddy joins the local chapter of the Irish Republican Army, who use violence to drive British troops out of the country. While the IRA is a poor and ill-equipped fighting force, their willingness to give their lives for their cause is taken very seriously by the British, who step up their reprisals against the locals; the Black and Tans even begin directing their violence and torture against women and children, including Damien's girlfriend, Sinead (Orla Fitzgerald). In 1921, Britain attempts to end the violence in Ireland by creating the Irish Free State, a compromise government which will give the Irish greater autonomy while Great Britain still retains final political control of the nation. Teddy sees this as a victory and believes it's an important first step to a truly free Ireland, but Damien sees the IRA's goal as nothing short of complete independence, and the brothers and allies soon become rivals in a battle neither side can win. The Wind That Shakes the Barley received the Golden Palm award as Best Picture at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Palme d'Or – Cannes Film Festival Film Presented – Toronto International Film Festival Best British Independent Film – British Independent Film Awards Best Director – British Independent Film Awards Best Actor – British Independent Film Awards Best Technical Achievement – British Independent Film Awards Best British Film – London Film Critics Association British Producer of the Year – London Film Critics Association Best British Director – London Film Critics Association Best Original Screenplay – Satellite Awards Best European Film – Goya Awards

Features: Carry On Ken: A Look at the World of Director Ken Loach
Feature commentary with director Ken Loach and historical advisor Professor Donal O'Driscoll

Wind That Shakes the Barley

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 09/04/2007

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 127 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- The Wind That Shakes the Barley
1. Opening Titles [8:54]
2. Micheail's Funeral [3:00]
3. The Oath [3:34]
4. Field Training [5:00]
5. Final Warning [5:03]
6. Manhunt [4:21]
7. Captured [5:53]
8. Singing Support [7:30]
9. Escape [7:30]
10. Death March [6:20]
11. Republican Court [8:08]
12. Ambush [10:54]
13. Home Invasion [6:40]
14. Celebration [11:26]
15. Exit Parade [5:10]
16. Telegram From Dublin [9:25]
17. Weapons Depot [3:51]
18. Final Visitor [9:15]
19. Last Letter [2:35]
20. End Credits [2:32]

Derek Armstrong

For directors who refuse to orient their audiences through exposition, there's a price to be paid, and Ken Loach pays that price in The Wind That Shakes the Barley. This gripping epic about the Irish War of Independence, made all the more affecting by its exquisite cinematography, is diminished somewhat by Loach's failure to personalize his characters and tell us who's right and who's wrong. On the one hand, Ireland's British occupiers are clearly dead wrong -- they're portrayed one-dimensionally as reprehensible tyrants. But divisions also develop internally between the Irish freedom fighters, and these disagreements have dire consequences to the dissenters. Not knowing who owns the moral high ground, because Loach has been cagey about laying this out for us, is somewhat frustrating, because it leaves us without clear rooting interests. Surely, Loach isn't interested in anything so pedestrian as right and wrong, good and bad. He's more interested in documenting this tumultuous period in Irish history, with its repeated destruction of loyalties, its compromises and failures to compromise. This being the case, it would help to have a more in-depth understanding of his characters as people, not just as the embodiment of sociopolitical philosophies. A few scenes with Cillian Murphy do penetrate in this way, but they stand out as isolated pockets within a dense stream of attacks, imprisonments, tortures, and other plot-heavy logistics. This doesn't mean The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a bad film -- far from it, as its win at Cannes indicates. The lush green countryside captured by DP Barry Ackroyd would, by itself, be worth the price of admission. It just means that Loach can't touch our souls the same way Ackroyd touches our eyeballs, which is problematic in a film that involves the tragic sacrifices made in the name of ideas. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Ulrich Felsberg  Executive Producer 
George Fenton  Composer (Music Score) 
Ken Loach  Director 
Rebecca O'Brien  Producer 
Mark Woods  Executive Producer 
Paul Trijbits  Executive Producer 
Paul Laverty  Screenwriter 
Brendan McCarthy  Executive Producer 
Nigel Thomas  Executive Producer 
Andrew Lowe  Executive Producer 
Cillian Murphy  Actor 
Liam Cunningham  Actor 
Padraic Delaney  Actor 
Orla Fitzgerald  Actor 
Mary Riordan  Actor 
Mary Murphy  Actor 
Lawrence Barry  Actor 
Damien Kearney  Actor 
Frank Bourke  Actor 
Myles Horgan  Actor 
Martin Lucey  Actor 
Aidan O'Hare  Actor 
Shane Casey  Actor 
John Crean  Actor 
Martin de Cogain  Actor 
Keith Dunphy  Actor 
Kieran Hegarty  Actor 
Gerard Kearney  Actor 
Shane Nott  Actor 
Kevin O'Brien  Actor 
Gary McCarthy  Actor 
Tim O'Mahon  Actor 
Graham Browne  Actor 
Owen Buckley  Actor 
Aidan Fitzpatick  Actor 
Vince Hannington  Actor 
Denis Kelleher  Actor 
Colin McClery  Actor 
Finbar O'Mahon  Actor 
John Quinlan  Actor 
Peggy Lynch  Actor 
Noel O'Donovan  Actor 
Peter O'Manhoney  Actor 
Barry Bourke  Actor 
Frank O'Sullivan  Actor 
Diamuíd Ó'Dálaigh  Actor 
Corina Gough  Actor 
Roger Allam  Actor 
Sabrina Barry  Actor 
William Ruane  Actor 
Dan O'Riordan  Actor 
Peg Crowley  Actor 
Fiona Lawton  Actor 
Kieran Ahmem  Actor 
Clare Dineen  Actor 
Sean McGinley  Actor 
Tomas Ohealaithe  Actor 
Nora Lynch  Actor 
Diamuid Ní Mheachair  Actor 
Denis Conway  Actor 
Barry Looney  Actor 
Connie O'Connail  Actor 
Aine O'Connor  Actor 
Frances O'Connor  Actor 
O'Riada Peadr  Actor 
Neil Brand  Actor 
Tom Chamock  Actor 
Alan Ready  Actor 
Mark Wakeling  Actor 
Anthony Byrne  Actor 
Marcus Anthony  Actor 
Bill Armstrong  Actor 
Christopher Brown  Actor 
Mark Bryce  Actor 
Alex Dee  Actor 
Jonny Holmes  Actor 
Allan Huntley  Actor 
Bill Hurst  Actor 
Daniel Kington  Actor 
Jamie Lomas  Actor 
Anthony Martin  Actor 
Owen McQuade  Actor 
Richard Oldham  Actor 
Colin Parry  Actor 
Scott Peden  Actor 
Bernie Sweeney  Actor 
Derek Taylor  Actor 
Neil Alan Taylor  Actor 
Gregor Wood  Actor 

Country: Germany,Italy,Spain,UK,Ireland