The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)

A sympathetic look at Republicans in early 20th century Ireland, and two brothers who are torn apart by anti-Brit rebellion

I like Ken Loach's work as he did great films such as Poor Cow (1967) and Kes (1969) he came out of the sixties as a socialist film maker. Also one of his films in in the top 100 being Land and Freedom (1995)

You know you are going to get a tough uncompromising view of what ever he is looking at. On this occasion the Irish rebellion for Independence and the Irish civil war. It got bad press even before if was shown because it was branded as anti British.

It shows British soldiers as the Black and Tans killing and terrorising unarmed civilians. In a guerrilla war situation there are times when the occupying power overreacts and atrocities are committed.

The Irish rebels then use ambushes and executions against the soldiers which then fuels more reprisals.

Although it is thought of a an anti British film nobody comes out of it very well. The Irish kill their own for being traitors. The story follows two brothers who eventually end up on the wrong side of the civil war and one is executed by the other.

A moving film and not one you would want to watch too many times because of the subject matter. It has an effect but shows human behaviour at its worse.


The criticisms are that the dialogue is spoken too quietly and I missed even the fact that the two protagonists were brothers. It looks and sounds like a documentary which I suppose was the intention.

The baddies are the British and then it becomes the Irish free state soldiers who use the same tactics as the British and they end of killing each other.