The wind is rising (film, 2006)

The wind is rising ( The Wind That Shakes the Barley , literally “the wind that shakes barley”) is a British film directed by Ken Loach and released in 2006 .

The film is about the Irish War of Independence ( 1919 – 1921 ) and the Civil War that followed ( 1922 – 1923 ). The original title, The Wind That Shakes the Barley , refers to a poem by Robert Dwyer Joyce , Irish author of the xix th century, which evokes the Irish uprising of 1798 .

The film tells the story of a small group of activists from the Irish Republican Army , especially two brothers, Damien and Teddy O’Donovan, who are first united against the British occupier and then tear themselves apart. . The story unfolds from 1920 to the years of the Irish Civil War.

The wind rises won the Palme d’Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival . He officially came out in France on.

The commercial interest generated by the film in Britain was less important than in other European countries, as for most Ken Loach films ref.  desired] , and only 30 copies of the film were to be distributed against 300 in France. Finally, due to the Palme d’Or, the film was released on 105 screens across the UK .

The political party RESPECT , including Ken Loach is a member, urged people to go see the movie in the first weekend to persuade the film industry to program the widest 2 .

Synopsis

Poster ( Avenue de France , Paris)

1920 , County Cork , Ireland. Dr. Damien O’Donovan is about to leave his home village to practice medicine at a London hospital . Meanwhile, his brother Teddy commands the local brigade of the IRA, the Irish Republican Army . After a hurling match , Damien witnesses the summary execution of his friend, Micheál Ó Súilleabháin, by British soldiers of the ” Black and Tans ” regiment(Blacks and Fauves) Although strongly shaken, Damien rejects his friends’ pleas for staying in Ireland and joining the IRA because he says war is lost before he leaves town. Damien sees soldiers of the British army vainly and violently trying to intimidate the guard (a supervisor) and the driver of a train because they refuse to allow the troops to board. and join Teddy’s IRA brigade.

Themes

According to director Ken Loach , the film tries to explore how the Irish revolution was a social revolution, not a nationalist revolution.

“Whenever a colony wants independence, the questions on the agenda are:
A) How do you get the departure of the imperialists?
B) What type of society do you want to build?
There are usually bourgeois nationalists who say, “Let’s just say, change the flag and leave everything as it was.” Then there are the revolutionaries who say, “We will change the laws on property.” It’s always a critical moment. ”

According to Rebecca O’Brien, producer and long-time collaborator Ken Loach:

“This is the civil war in a microcosm … It’s not a story like Michael Collins . It is not the search for this kind of biographical precision, but rather to express oneself on the themes of the period. This is the heart of troubles that will come later, which is why it is so fascinating to do. ”

Reception

The film became Ireland’s most-watched independent film ever released in Ireland, earning  377,000 on its opening weekend and € 2.7 million in August 2006.

Left-wing commentators in Ireland have long studied the Irish War of Independence as an example of class struggle as much as nationalism.

The film also revived the debate on opposing interpretations of Irish history.

Technical sheet

  • Original title: The Wind That Shakes the Barley
  • Title: The wind is rising
  • Director: Ken Loach
  • Scenario: Paul Laverty
  • Sets: Fergus Clegg
  • Costumes: Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh
  • Photography: Barry Ackroyd
  • Editing: Jonathan Morris
  • Music: George Fenton
  • Production: Rebecca O’Brien
  • Format: Colors – 1.85: 1 – 35 mm – Dolby Digital
  • Genre: Drama
  • Duration: 126 minutes
  • Release date: 2006

Distribution

  • Cillian Murphy (VF: Mathieu Sampeur ) : Damien
  • Padraic Delaney (VF: Cédric Chevalme) : Teddy
  • Liam Cunningham (VF: Patrick Bonnel ) : Dan
  • Orla Fitzgerald (VF: Lisa Martino ) : Sinead
  • Damien Kearney (VF: Alexis Victor ) : Finbar
  • Myles Horgan (VF: Jonathan Cohen ) : Rory
  • Martin Lucey (VF: Enrique Carballido ) : Congo
  • Aidan O’Hare (VF: Emmanuel Truth ) : Steady Boy
  • Fiona Lawton (VF: Odile Cohen ) : Lily
  • Mary O’Riordan : Peggy
  • Mary Murphy: Bernadette
  • Laurence Barry : Micheail
  • Frank Bourke : Leo

Box office

Country Box Office No. of weeks TLT Rating 3 Dated
Global box office 42,789,004 to the 07/01/07
Box office France 876 370 entries 7 weeks to 10/10/06
Box office Paris 214,992 entries 7 weeks to 10/10/06
Box Office Belgium $ 502,233 5 weeks to 15/10/06

Awards

  • Palme d ‘or at the Cannes Film Festival 2006 (unanimously).
  • Best Direction – European Film Awards 2006.
  • Best Film, Audience Award, Best Supporting Actor ( Liam Cunningham ): Irish Film and Television Awards 2007.
  • Presented – 2006 Toronto Festival.

Notes

  1. ↑ a , b , c , d , e , f , g and h “Country of origin”  [ archive ] on IMDb , accessed on 17 May 2012
  2. ↑ Article on the website of the RESPECT political party, the 10/06/06 [ read online  [ archive ] ]
  3. ↑ All times – All Time

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