The Wind That Shakes the Barley

I came back to see, The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006), with a couple of friends and it is absolutely stunning. Set in 1920 Ireland, the story is about two brothers drawn together in rebellion against British colonization, but torn apart when a peace treaty is signed. One brother sees the treaty as inherently unjust; the other, a clearer road to independence. It's a tough movie to watch because of the physical violence and torture, but also because the politics of nationalism is so deeply complex and contradictory. This no cookie cutter movie, or your typical Hollywood flick, as the director, Ken Loach, and Paul Laverty, the writer, do a superb job weaving an intricate political story. It's not superficial nor cliched. It is powerful in its depth and grasp of the complexity of life under colonial, and postcolonial, Ireland. There was a beautiful scene that takes place after the treaty is signed and the room is filled with discussions about whether to support it. The discussions were layered and the individual aspirations and dreams of a free and independent Ireland were entangled, and forced to confront, the need to be a functioning nation, even if it was not wholly free. The exchange was simply brilliant, thoughtful, and contentious. I really liked how the movie portrayed nationalists intelligent men and women who made extraordinarily difficult decisions. It's too easy to dismiss the men, women, and children of these political movements as uneducated and irrational reactionaries who are no better than common criminals. What the movie has done is to demonstrate complexity. And it was fantastic!