The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006)
Drama, War |
The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a war drama film directed by Ken Loach, set during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) and the Irish Civil War (1922–1923). Written by long-time Loach collaborator Paul Laverty, this drama tells the fictional story of two County Cork brothers, Damien O’Donovan (Cillian Murphy) and Teddy O’Donovan (Pádraic Delaney), who join the Irish Republican Army to fight for Irish independence from the United Kingdom.
The film takes its title from Robert Dwyer Joyce’s “The Wind That Shakes the Barley”, a song set during the 1798 rebellion in Ireland and featured early in the film. The film is heavily influenced by Walter Macken’s 1964 novel The Scorching Wind.
County Cork, Ireland, 1920. Dr. Damien O’Donovan is about to leave his native village to practise medicine in a London hospital. Meanwhile, his brother Teddy commands the local flying column of the Irish Republican Army. After a hurling match, Damien witnesses the summary execution of his friend, Micheál Ó Súilleabháin, by British Black and Tans. Although shaken, Damien rebuffs his friends’ entreaties to stay in Ireland and join the IRA, saying that the war is unwinnable. As he is leaving town, Damien witnesses the British Army vainly trying to intimidate a railway personnel for refusing to permit the troops to board. In response, Damien decides to stay and is sworn into Teddy’s IRA brigade.
After drilling in the mountains, the column raids the village’s Royal Irish Constabulary barracks to acquire revolvers, then uses them to assassinate four Auxiliaries. In the aftermath, Anglo-Irish landowner Sir John Hamilton coerces one of his servants, IRA member Chris Reilly, into passing information to the British Army’s Intelligence Corps. As a result, the entire brigade is arrested. In their cell, Damien meets the train driver, Dan, a union official who shares Damien’s socialist views.
Director: Ken Loach
Writer: Paul Laverty
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Pádraic Delaney, Liam Cunningham, Orla Fitzgerald, Mary O’Riordan, Mary Murphy, Laurence Barry
Cast:
| Cillian Murphy | … | Damien |
| Pádraic Delaney | … | Teddy |
| Liam Cunningham | … | Dan |
| Orla Fitzgerald | … | Sinead |
| Mary O’Riordan | … | Peggy (as Mary Riordan) |
| Mary Murphy | … | Bernadette |
| Laurence Barry | … | Micheail |
| Damien Kearney | … | Finbar |
| Frank Bourke | … | Leo |
| Myles Horgan | … | Rory |
| Martin Lucey | … | Congo |
| Aidan O’Hare | … | Steady Boy |
| Shane Casey | … | Kevin |
| John Crean | … | Chris |
| Máirtín de Cógáin | … | Sean (as Mairtin de Cogain) |
| Keith Dunphy | … | Terence |
| Kieran Hegarty | … | Francis |
| Gerard Kearney | … | Donacha |
| Shane Nott | … | Ned |
| Kevin O’Brien | … | Tim |
| Gary McCarthy | … | Volunteer |
| Tim O’Mahon | … | Volunteer |
| Graham Browne | … | Volunteer |
| Owen Buckley | … | Volunteer |
| Aidan Fitzpatrick | … | Volunteer |
| Vince Hannington | … | Volunteer |
| Denis Kelleher | … | Volunteer |
| Colin McClery | … | Volunteer |
| Finbar O’Mahon | … | Volunteer |
| John Quinlan | … | Volunteer |
| Peggy Lynch | … | Singer at Wake |
| Noel O’Donovan | … | Station Guard |
| Peter O’Mahoney | … | Stoker |
| Barry Bourke | … | Policeman |
| Frank O’Sullivan | … | Man in Pub |
| Diarmuid Ó’Dálaigh | … | Man in Pub |
| Corina Gough | … | Woman in Search |
| Roger Allam | … | Sir John Hamilton |
| Sabrina Barry | … | Julia |
| William Ruane | … | Johnny Gogan |
| Danny Riordan | … | Elderly Couple |
| Peg Crowley | … | Elderly Couple |
| Fiona Lawton | … | Lily |
| Kieran Aherne | … | Sweeney |
| Clare Dineen | … | Mrs. Rafferty |
| Sean McGinley | … | Father Denis |
| Tomas OhEalaithe | … | Boy on Bike |
| Nora Lynch | … | Mother of Sick Child |
| Diarmuid Ní Mheachair | … | Sick Child |
| Denis Conway | … | Priest |
| Barry L. Looney | … | Ceilidh Band (as Barry Looney) |
| Connie O’Connail | … | Ceilidh Band |
| Aine O’Connor | … | Ceilidh Band |
| Francis O’Connor | … | Ceilidh Band |
| Peadr O’Riada | … | Ceilidh Band |
| Neil Brand | … | Newsreel Piano Accompanist |
| Tom Charnock | … | Sergeant at Cottage |
| Alan Ready | … | Sergeant at Station |
| Mark Wakeling | … | Lieutenant |
| Antony Byrne | … | The Interrogator |
| Anthony Mark Streeter | … | British Soldier (as Marcus Anthony) |
| William Armstrong | … | British Soldier (as Bill Armstrong) |
| Christopher Bown | … | British Soldier |
| Mark Bryce | … | British Soldier |
| Alex Dee | … | British Soldier |
| Jonny Holmes | … | British Soldier |
| Allan Huntley | … | British Soldier |
| Bill Hurst | … | British Soldier |
| Daniel Kington | … | British Soldier |
| Jamie Lomas | … | British Soldier |
| Owen McQuade | … | British Soldier |
| Richard Oldham | … | British Soldier |
| Colin Parry | … | British Soldier |
| Scott Peden | … | British Soldier |
| Bernie Sweeney | … | British Soldier |
| Derek Taylor | … | British Soldier |
| Neil Alan Taylor | … | British Soldier |
| Gregor Wood | … | British Soldier |
| Fergus Burke | … | Theater Attendee (uncredited) |
| Karl Dawson | … | Volunteer (uncredited) |
| Niall McCarthy | … | Extra (uncredited) |
| Siobhan McSweeney | … | Julia (uncredited) |
| Seamus Moynihan | … | Policeman (uncredited) |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia