Wednesday August 23, 2006 saw the release of one of the most talked-about Irish films of the year: “The Wind That Shakes the Barley”, by the highly committed director Ken Loach. The film, which won a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, is set in the troubled political context of 1920s Ireland. Ken Loach’s accurate retelling of the Irish Civil War, coupled with the struggle against British imperialism, paints a portrait of Ireland in the 1920s, and thus justifies the island’s current geopolitical state.
Le Vent se lève
Ireland, 1920. The entire island was under English occupation. The Irish population was subjected to British oppression, discrimination, violence and poverty.
For a handful of farmers, it’s too much. In the face of injustice and violence, they unite to form a volunteer army. Their objective: to oppose the terrible Blacks & Tans, English troops sent in boatloads to quell the republican aspirations of the Irish people.
The struggle rages on, eventually leading the country to a war of independence… A war that would later lead to civil war.
Between republican struggles and internal conflicts of interest, Ireland was torn apart by a fratricidal war of terrible bloodshed.
In this story, Ken Loach focuses on the destinies of two brothers, Damien (a country doctor) and Teddy. Together, they fought for Irish independence…
But the ratification of the Treaty of London would deeply divide them. Driven by their patriotic impulses, each brother will choose sides… and make enemies of both. A dramatic situation that can only end in death…
The challenge was a difficult one: Ken Loach wanted above all to tell the story of Irish history, at its darkest. A delicate project, in which he wanted to make Du Vent se Lève, a denunciatory film, without sinking into anti-British caricature…
And the gamble paid off: Le Vent se Lève is far from being an indictment of British imperialism, and goes to great lengths to denounce the excesses of both sides: the English and the Irish.
In order to clarify and blur the lines between preconceived ideas, Ken Loach doesn’t hesitate to take the opposite view of the murderous acts of the British, by exposing the violent acts of the Irish involved in the struggle. Ken Loach’s approach is by no means simplistic, based on notions of good and evil: the conflict is far more complex. Both the English and the Irish sink into violence, brutality and hatred. Neither side seems enviable. And all are running to their doom.
But Ken Loach goes further, demonstrating the complexity of the conflict through paradoxes…
Thus, Damien (Cillian Murphy), a level-headed and reasonable man, becomes a universal figure of the man of action, carried away by his patriotic impulses and his belief in the viability of an Irish Republic. By contrast, his brother (Pádraic Delaney), initially particularly active in the armed struggle against British imperialism, softened his stance by accepting the signing of the treaty, and by accepting this diplomatic peace, despite the wrath of his more revolutionary compatriots.
The film eternally revolves around a contradictory debate. Ken Loach makes no attempt to manipulate the viewer, simply providing the elements needed to understand the characters’ motives. For, while it allows us to hear the arguments expressed by everyone in the discussion, it is careful not to answer or conclude.
The viewer can’t help but be drawn into the film. It’s in this way that Ken Loach turns Irish history from a theoretical statement into a violent, dramatic reality. The characters write history, make history and are history.
Ken Loach’s desire was to lift the veil on the reality of this troubled past. His approach was cerebral: above all, he sought to dissect the components of this fratricidal war. What better way to do this than to take the situation of 2 brothers whom everything brings together, and whom everything will separate: Teddy, revolutionary leader of a small handful of peasants, and his brother Damien, fresh out of medical school, who gets caught up in his brother’s revolutionary values.
Here, Ken Loach denounces a complex ambiguity: that of the duality between human feelings and the ideological values to which men adhere in order to preserve a collective, to the detriment of individuality.
A must-see!
The Wind That Shakes the Barley keeps you on the edge of your seat. Ideal for exploring the twists and turns of Irish history,The Wind That Shakes the Barley will disappoint neither fans of the genre nor “novices” unaccustomed to such politicized films. Each scene is intense and emotionally charged: without embellishment or pro-Republican rhetoric, Ken Loach paints a poignant picture of Ireland. The actors are up to the challenge, and carry the film from start to finish.
What’s more, the issues surrounding this conflict are, by their very universality, absolutely right and unrelenting. Be sure not to come away unscathed: Loach knows how to use heavy weapons: those that make you think. Is democracy flawless? Is peace more precious than freedom? How far can man go for his beliefs? No answer will be given here: Ken Loach has understood only too well the value of his audience’s independent reflection.
The only drawback is that the shots are sometimes clumsy, but Ken Loach later explained that he had put technical aspects aside in favor of content.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a film to be seen again and again.
3.40/5 (5 votes)
