THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY

Ireland, UK, Germany, Italy & Spain/2006/English dialogue/Colour/35mm/126 mins

Set against the backdrop of the Irish uprising against British rule during the 1920s, The Wind That Shakes the Barley focuses on two brothers. At the start of the story, Teddy (Padraic Delaney) is already a passionate Republican, while Damien (Cillian Murphy) is a young doctor with plans to go and work in London. Then brutal events convince Damien to stay and join the rebel cause.

With characteristic realism – and director Ken Loach does not flinch from showing acts of violence and cruelty – generous humanity and a commitment to describing political ideas, Ken Loach involves us in a rich historical drama while also exploring the complications of keeping faith with ideals, as first the brutal Black and Tans attempt to bring the Irish rebels to heel and then the Irish themselves are split by factional differences after winning independence. The latest work from one of cinema’s most consistent and committed directors, The Wind That Shakes the Barley won the Palme d’or at Cannes this year.

KEN LOACH was born in 1936 in Nuneaton, England, and read law at Oxford University. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he has made dozens of socially committed dramas for cinema and television, tackling subjects as diverse as homelessness (the groundbreaking Cathy Come Home, 1966), the conflict in Northern Ireland (Hidden Agenda, 1990), the Spanish Civil War (Land and Freedom, 1995) and railway privatization (The Navigators, 2001).

Director: Ken Loach
Producer: Rebecca O’Brien
Scriptwriter: Paul Laverty
Cinematographer: Barry Ackroyd
Editor: Jonathan Morris
Composer: George Fenton
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Liam Cunningham, Padraic Delaney, Gerard Kearney, William Ruane, Roger Allam

CONTENT ADVISORY (violence)