The long-awaited film from director Martin McDonagh has just released its first images. Entitled “The Banshees of Inishereen”, it features a 100% Irish cast, with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, who previously appeared as a duo in “Bons baisers de Bruges”. This new film is set in the heart of 1920s Ireland, during the Irish Civil War. So far, the film is full of promise, but it won’t be fully screened until next October.
The first images are tantalizing, and the pitch has already been released.
Set on the fictional island of Inisherin in Ireland, the film takes place in 1923, at the height of the Irish Civil War. It’s the story of two friends who find themselves on opposite sides of the war, forced to choose sides.
Now, for one of them, this is no longer possible. They can definitely no longer be friends.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson take on the lead roles, 15 years after they previously starred for McDonagh in “Bons baisers de Bruges”.
For the director, the film is of a completely different genre, tackling universal subjects such as friendship, its fractures and betrayals.
The whole story is told in a wild universe. Ireland is beautiful. Terribly raw, wild and artistic.
It’s in this verdant setting that the two main characters evolve, torn by their respective questions and pain. A setting that reinforces the intensity of the story, and brings a real aesthetic to the narrative.
What I wanted was to aim for beauty and cinema. said Martin McDonagh. Because if you hear about a story about two guys complaining about each other and you didn’t have that kind of epic beauty, it could get a little boring.”
And let’s face it: the gamble seems to have paid off for the director. Each image depicts an Ireland that is deep and wild, majestic and unalterable.
Scenes were mainly shot on the islands of Inishmore (County Galway) and Achill Island in County Mayo. Exceptional places, very popular with tourists every year, that remind us of Ireland’s wild beauty and its relationship with the ocean, mountains and nature.
The icing on the cake: the characters are said to speak an authentic, period dialect in VO. Although some American, Australian or British viewers may be confused, the director justified his choice by claiming that some American films retained the dialect of Italian mobsters… For him, this will only add to the film’s power.
If you can’t wait to discover this future nugget of Irish cinema, The Banshees of Inisherin will premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September and be released in cinemas on October 21.
All you have to do is wait!
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