The Wind That Shakes the Barley

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Movie
German title The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Original title The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Country of production Great Britain
France
Ireland
original language English
Publishing year 2006
length 127 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Ken Loach
script Paul Laverty
production Rebecca O'Brien
music George Fenton
camera Barry Ackroyd
cut Jonathan Morris
occupation

The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a feature film by British director Ken Loach from 2006. The war drama is based on an original screenplay by Paul Laverty and was produced by the film studio Sixteen Films Ltd. produced. The film opened in UK cinemas on June 23, 2006. Neue Visionen Filmverleih has acquired the German rights. The cinema release in Germany was on December 28, 2006.

action

Ireland , 1920: As the Irish War of Independence breaks out, young doctor Damien O'Donovan looks forward to a bright future. He has been given a job in a London hospital and is about to leave Ireland. However, Damien is raised by his friends as his new employers are the British. These have sent the so-called Black and Tans as paramilitary police units to Ireland in order to suppress any support for the independence movement across the board. When Damien is about to say goodbye to old Peggy who runs an adjoining farm, the young doctor witnesses the Black and Tans being used at an informal sporting event. The Black and Tans announce that the popular hurling is now also subject to the ban on gatherings and harass the players. When Peggy's grandson refuses to obey the humiliating instructions of the Black and Tans, they beat him to death.

Damien decides to stay and fight for the freedom of his country. Much to the delight of his brother Teddy and friends, he joins the Irish Republican Army . This operates in small guerrilla-like groups and steals weapons from the British occupiers. After a harassing attack by British officers on the visitors of a bar, these officers, who are served in the same bar afterwards, are shot by the Irish fighters while drinking beer. In retaliation, the British take numerous prisoners, including Damien's brother and his followers, who are being tortured. Shortly before the execution, the group is freed and can flee with Damien into the hilly surrounding area.

Political events put a damper on their idealism. The English and Irish sign the Anglo-Irish Treaty on December 6, 1921, which creates the Irish Free State . However, only 26 of the 32 counties belong to the Free State. While Teddy welcomes the new political turnaround and joins the army of the new Free State, Damien continues to fight for an independent Ireland, including against the soldiers of the new Free State.

When Damien is arrested and sentenced to death while robbing a Free State Army weapons depot, Teddy offers him a pardon and release if Damien reveals the location of the weapons depot and the hiding place of an IRA leader. Damien refuses and is shot , with his brother himself in command of the firing squad. Then he brings Damien's wife the news of her husband's death. The woman collapses and never wants to see him again.

History of origin

Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley , his first historical film since Land and Freedom (1995), is his eighth collaboration with screenwriter Paul Laverty. Laverty first wrote the film script for Loach's award-winning romantic drama Carla's Song in 1996 and then wrote the scripts My name is Joe (1998), Bread and Roses (2000), Sweet Sixteen (2002), Loach's contribution to the episode film 11'09 "01 - September 11 (2002), Just a Kiss (2004) and Tickets (2005) .

Filming took place from April 2005 to July 8, 2005 on the original Irish locations, including Timoleague and Bandon in Cork . It was in the latter city that Michael Collins (1890-1922), leader of the Irish struggle for independence from 1919 to 1922, began "the last journey" , who was ambushed in the village of Béal na mBláth near Bandon.

Irish actor Cillian Murphy , who a year earlier had received critical acclaim for his leading role in Neil Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto, was hired for the lead role . The rather unknown actors Pádraic Delaney , Liam Cunningham , Gerard Kearney and William Ruane also played in other roles . Ruane played the role of pinball and tickets in Loach's Sweet Sixteen .

"The Wind That Rows Through The Barley" is the title of a 19th century Irish ballad.

reception

The Wind That Shakes the Barley premiered on May 18, 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival . Ken Loach's 26th cinema work was understood as a dark and brutal picture of the Irish liberation struggle (cf. Arte criticism). Loach himself replied that he would not speak of his work as an "anti-British film". “I've encouraged people to see their loyalty conflicts horizontally across national borders, so this isn't a movie about the British publicly berating the Irish. People have much more in common with people in the same social position in other countries than with, say, those who are at the top of their own society. You can argue that we have a responsibility to target the mistakes and brutalities of our leaders, past and present. Far from being unpatriotic, it is a duty that we cannot escape, ”says Loach.

  • “[Loach draws] parallels to the controversial engagement of the British government in the Iraq war, which with its military engagement only contributed to the escalation of domestic violence rather than to the liberation of the country. So The Wind that Shakes the Barley has also become a very real, contemporary film that calls for vigilance against the errors and acts of violence of any political leadership. ” Arte
  • “The parallels [are] obvious, but that is more inevitable. [...] Loach's protagonists are less individuals than they stand for certain ideas. […] As remarkable as Loach brings his actors' play into line, […] I regret the reduction to the functional. [...] A carefully constructed, but overall a bit too schematic historical film “Frank Arnold, epd Film 1/2007
  • "Loach is British, but here he is completely on the side of the Irish independence fighters [...] But we don't really get close to the characters, so that we do not experience the internal struggles in which the political contradictions are reflected, and in the end one kind Didactic play, including all the lengthy explanations of the various positions on the 1922 Armistice Treaty. This is a bit disappointing, but it doesn't really detract from Loach's reputation as one of the greats in British cinema. ” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
  • “A lesson in Irish history, in which Ken Loach discovers more gray between black and white than we are used to from him.” The world
  • “Narrated full of anger and intensity” Hannes Brühwiler, www.critic.de
  • "History in 'The Wind That Shakes the Barley' [...] seems alive and unsettling like something on the evening news, albeit far more profound and beautiful." AO Scott, The New York Times
  • "Ken Loach differentiates the good-bad paradigm that was initially built up and creates an increasingly complex picture of history ." Lexicon of international film
  • “The longer Ken Loach is in the business, the less you want to accuse him of the tracts in his films. […] The Wind that shakes the Barley [leaves] a lasting impression simply because of its combative attitude (the torture scenes are at the limit of pain). "Andreas Busche, Friday
  • “That's the topic: The revolution is eating its children. “ David Denby , The New Yorker
  • “With Loach […] there are no heroes, only victims. [...] When does militarization strike back inside a society? How long can the struggle for freedom be justified, and when does it become a war like any other? The courage of The Wind that Shakes the Barley lies in the absolute perplexity with which Loach confronts these questions. " Katja Nicodemus , Die Zeit

The film opened in British cinemas on June 23, 2006 and was rated for ages 15 and over. The German theatrical release was December 28, 2006.

Awards

At the 59th Cannes International Film Festival , Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley was actually represented with a film on the Croisette for the eleventh time since 1979 ( Black Jack, the gallows bird ) and competed for the eighth time in the competition. The two-time jury award winner ( Raining Stones , 1993; Secret Protocol , 1990) competed against Pedro Almodóvar ( Volver - Returning ) , Alejandro González Iñárritu ( Babel ) , Aki Kaurismäki ( Lights of the Suburbs ) and Nanni Moretti ( The Italian ) and was surprisingly awarded the Golden Palm for the best film of the festival. Months later, the film was awarded the European Film Prize for best camera work.

Cannes International Film Festival 2006

European Film Award 2006

  • Best camera
    • nominated in the categories
      • Best movie
      • Best director
      • Best Actor (Cillian Murphy)
      • Best script

British Independent Film Awards 2006

  • nominated in the categories
    • Best movie
    • Best director
    • Best Actor (Cillian Murphy)
    • Best technical performance (camera)

More films about the Irish War of Independence

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for The Wind That Shakes the Barley . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , November 2006 (PDF; test number: 108 303 K).
  2. ↑ Sven von Reden: The Wind that Shakes the Barley. (No longer available online.) In: 3sat . January 15, 2007, archived from the original on April 22, 2016 ; Retrieved August 12, 2008 (interview with Ken Loach). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.3sat.de
  3. ↑ see The Wind That Shakes the Barley in the English language Wikipedia.
  4. ↑ Martin Rosefeldt: The Wind that Shakes the Barley  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , ARTE , June 14, 2006@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.arte-tv.com  
  5. ↑ Verena Lueken: Cannes: The confusion of feelings . In: FAZ , May 19, 2006
  6. ^ Hanns-Georg Rodek: Flawlessly constructed . In: Die Welt , May 18, 2006
  7. ^ Hannes Brühwiler: The Wind That Shakes the Barley. In: www.critic.de. Retrieved on August 9, 2008 (from Filmzentrale).
  8. ^ AO Scott: The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006). (No longer available online.) In: The New York Times . March 16, 2007, archived from the original on July 19, 2008 ; accessed on August 9, 2008 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / movies.nytimes.com
  9. ^ The Wind That Shakes the Barley. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  10. ^ Andreas Busche: The Wind that shakes the Barley - The discrete charm of political didactics. In: Friday . Retrieved on August 9, 2008 (from Filmzentrale).
  11. ↑ David Denby : Taking Sides. In: The New Yorker . March 19, 2007, accessed August 12, 2008 .
  12. ↑ Katja Nicodemus : Under fighting machines . In: Die Zeit , No. 23/2006, p. 63