Wind that Shakes the Barley; War of the Worlds
Wind that Shakes the Barley (the Ken Loach film) is about the conflicts in Ireland with the British in the 20s. Its one of those political films that pushes all the right buttons, and gets you all upset. The problem is you never know how much of it is true. If it all is, and I suspect much of it is, it was a terrible terrible situation.
I find it interesting to contemplate how much this sort of thing should matter if you have a global conception of the world. Nationalism, in the sense of a pure ethnic nation with an ethnic destiny, seems dated and rather unhealthy. If you approach it simply as a fight against subjugation it still holds water but as a cultural war it seems weak. Not necessarily wrong just perhaps not with the times. Myself, I still believe in borders, and cultures, just not ethnically based ones.
War of the Worlds was interesting for quite different reasons. I had not pursued this film because I had heard such mediocre things about it. But I have to say that the central performance by Tom Cruise is nothing short of remarkable. Rarely have I seen a film where the “hero” of an adventure/survival film is so ill equipped to handle disaster. He is an exceedingly incompetent father, a man prone to indecision and doubt, and one simply overwhelmed by events. He does come through in the end but against all odds is not much of an understatement in this case.
I think the portrayal would have struck me even if it hadn’t been Tom. However he is one of a number of actors who despite doing very good work are regularly pilloried in the press and rarely described as anything but box office draw. But I find Cruise to be gaining strength as he ages. Though everyone remembers Risky Business, Colour of Money is the first great role, crass but engaging. He has the ability to project a ludicrous amount of energy and now his burden is to struggle against that native talent. This decade has been his strongest with Minority Report and Collateral. He is just going to get better.
speaking as an Irish guy , “Wind that shakes…” is pretty accurate. Yes, all that violence really did happen. In fact, Ken Loach actually has downgraded the level of violence as the reality was much worse.
Comment by john trenchard — December 17, 2007 @ 3:59 pm
I really have to see Wind that shakes… I’ve been a student of Irish history and the troubles for sometime.
Tom Cruise? Yes, The Color of Money was a seminal film. His career, with one or two notable exceptions, is a tragic downward spiral. The L. Ron Hubbard project he is overseeing will probably be the death knell of his career, and the public insanity he has displayed.
Comment by Stevo — December 18, 2007 @ 7:02 am
Stevo: Don’t like Tom huh? Well each to their own. Though I did not actually see the couch jumping nor have I followed his extra-theatrical activities, I think we should just judge him on the acting. But regarding the Hubbard project, and thanks for the info, I was not aware of that, don’t think it can hurt him as long as he still does good work. How else can you explain the persistence of Travolta? After Battlefield Earth of all things, even considering that almost all his good work was before that monstrosity.
In that world its kind of hard to find sure fire career killers unlike in the world of the rest of us where it doesn’t take all that much.
John: Thanks for the information. Kind of suspected that. I think the tragedy of Ireland is partly that there are so many other stories out there like that such as Lebanon or Vietnam where the indigenous and nonexpansive territory is not only colonialized (because that will happen to everyone) but brutalized for little reason.
Comment by aos — December 18, 2007 @ 9:21 am
Just to corroborate what John said: The Wind that Shakes the Barley took some criticism in Ireland, but not for its depiction of violence. In relation to the comment on other colonized countries, however, the film goes past the IRA’s war against the British forces, and explores what happens when the Civil War began. The subsequent violence was no less savage than what had gone before. Cheers, Dec
Comment by Declan Burke — December 21, 2007 @ 4:42 am
Declan, have you sold North American rights for your novel? (I’m not trying to buy them; just want to see your book on the shelves in this country). Sounds like a hell of a book and exactly the thing I like to read. The Ray Banks sounds interesting as well. I’ll admit at this point that when I first read your site I confused you with Declan Hughes (in my poor defense, Declan is a rare name over here, and you two are the only ones i know), a writer I quite enjoy. Like your site.
Comment by aos — December 21, 2007 @ 2:27 pm