The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Liam Cunningham,
Padraic Delaney
Director: Ken Loach
The film: It's not hard to see why The Wind That Shakes the Barley has polarised critics and audiences alike. Revolving around the Irish struggle for independence and the resultant civil war after the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, Ken Loach's film has shown most parties in the conflict in a less favourable light. It's seen why the police paramilitary unit formed by the British government, known as the Black and Tans, gained infamy for their murderous mayhem. Among the republicans who had fought the Tans, one denounces his former leader Michael Collins as securing what he sees as a second-rate deal for Ireland because he signed the treaty after being 'seduced by the wining and dining' in London.
Only the hardliners who insisted on complete and immediate independence from British rule come out well - but only just. Loach, a humane left-winger who doesn't glorify warfare for any cause, delivers more than a revisionist take on militant Republicanism. His film is also an ode to idealism and a condemnation of how violence is one unending cycle of futility.