The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, two brothers fight a guerrilla war against British forces, but political events are soon set in motion that tear the brothers apart.
1956, Gaoth Dobhair, Donegal, Ireland
6 June 1954, Montreal, Québec, Canada
6 November 1977, Adamstown, Co. Wexford, Ireland
11 October 1971, England, UK
March 11, 2008
Loach is on fire here. A masterfully executed mix of politics and passion, this is an example of that increasingly rare beast in modern cinema: a serious, thought-provoking film for grown-ups.
May 11, 2007
The Wind that Shakes the Barley is a multi-layered story, and the more you see those different aspects, the more you'll enjoy the film.
April 27, 2007
[Loach is] the master of the docu-drama or the realist social film, and Wind is one of his masterpieces.
February 09, 2008
Gripping old-fashioned political drama.
August 28, 2008
Pickings must have been pretty slim at Cannes last year because Barley isn't much of a standout piece.
August 04, 2007
Gripping, powerful, heart-breaking.
May 11, 2007
While this may be a historical piece, it's history told in the vivid present tense.
July 19, 2008
Loach delivers a moving and often beautiful story that captures the essence of the conflict, with all its unintended consequences and personal tragedies.
April 27, 2007
[Loach] has made an often handsome, always sobering movie that does what the best movies do: leave us a whole lot less sure about what we ought to think.
September 27, 2007
A brutal film...deeply moving yet painful to watch.
April 27, 2007
Raises hard questions about Ireland's uncanny ability to kneecap itself.
