Léirmheas: The Banshees of Inisherin!

Review: The Banshees of Inisherin!

by | 2022/11/09 | Reviews

Review: The Banshees of Inisherin!

This film is a reunion of the director Martin McDonagh and film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. They worked together on the famous film 'In Bruges' in 2008, a film that was very popular.

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Background

In Irish folklore, a banshee is the spirit who screams to indicate that a family member will die soon. An old woman (Mrs. McCormack), who reminds us of a banshee, appears quite often in this film, predicting that a family member will die soon.

The film has a rugged landscape as its’ gorgeous backdrop. It was filmed on location on Inishmore and Achill islands.

The Civil war was going on at the time of the story, and bombs were heard exploding and guns being fired from time to time on the mainland. I was waiting for the affairs of the war to be tied into the story, but this did not happen. Maybe it was just a hint to us that the story was a metaphor, but if so, the similarities between the friendship in the film and the war of friends were not very strong.

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The Story

Pádraic (Farrell) and Colm (Gleeson) have been friends for a long time but suddenly Colm decides to end that friendship. He has grown tired of their conversation in the pub every night, and wants to spend more time composing and playing music.

Therefore, Colm orders Padraic to stay away from him. But it is not easy to avoid anyone, because there is only one pub on the island, where the locals meet all the time. Colm is a musician, and he takes part in the music sessions that take place regularly in the same pub.

Pádraic is a small farmer who lives with his sister in their late parents' house. Colm was Pádraic's only friend, and they would hang out together every night in the pub. Pádraic is a slow-witted man and he does not properly understand what Colm is saying.

Out of loneliness, Colm begins to spend more time with Dominic (Barry Keoghan), a kid who annoys everyone on the island but they feel sorry for him because his father, the island's policeman, is abusive to everyone, his son included.

When Pádraic sees Colm chatting with Dominic in the pub, he is not happy and tries to be friendly with him. Colm becomes cross and threatens that if Pádraic doesn't leave him alone, he will cut off one finger on his left hand every time Pádraic talks to him.

No one knows if he's joking or not, and I'm not going to tell you now what happens after that in the movie in case it would spoil the story!

  

Direction and Cinematography

Martin McDonagh is a first class director, a man at the top of his game, and this film shows how good he is at his craft. McDonagh found the right balance between comedy and tragedy, and opened the door slightly between true story and fantasy, between friendship and enmity, between love and hatred. McDonough emphasizes the main characters and shows us their characteristics, not only with dialogue but especially with their facial expressions.

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Acting

Farrell and Gleeson gave us an excellent performance, and it is unlikely that any other actors would be as powerful as they are in the roles of Pádraic and Colm, and they triumphed in this film. Siobhan (Kerry Condon) is also great in her role as Pádraic's sister, a very intelligent person who stayed at home to look after her brother.

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Conclusion

After seeing the movie, I was kind of uneasy. The film did not have a proper closure, as there were some unanswered questions. I think it would be more difficult for non-Irish people to understand the plot, without knowing the historical context in Ireland at the time. Be that as it may, there is much in the film that is outstanding – the acting, the wild scenes and the cinematography included.

The influence of the director Quentin Tarantino is clearly visible, in my opinion, with the interplay between the gratuitous violence and the burning humor. Although I'm not overly impressed with that genre - it's kind of avant-garde, if you like that genre, you'll enjoy the film. Otherwise, don't bother!

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Smaointe Faoi Shamhain!

Thoughts about Halloween!

by | 2022/11/02 | International News

Thoughts about Halloween!

Halloween!

The Celts believed that the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead became blurred on the night of October 31, when they celebrated Samhain, the time when one year would die and a new year would be born.

To commemorate the event, the Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic gods. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, usually with skulls and animal skins, and tried to tell each other's fortunes.

There is no doubt in the world that the bountiful and generous Autumn, which gave us fruits, corn, and numerous crops, for the past three months, has come to an end, and that we have now come to the threatening, troubling brink, the season of cold and hardship . It is not surprising then, that at this time of the year the human being thinks about the mortality of his race, and about his own mysterious destiny as a living being, living in a worldly domain, limited by the gates of time and the space, constantly attracted by the Utopian vision of the other world, a world not limited by the constraints of space or time, but existing as a magnet, to draw us constantly towards eternity. From all that, one would understand that the seasons are there to give us an opportunity to think about the different periods of human life.

In Spring, we see nature waking up from the peaceful, sleepy sleep of Winter. In the beginning of Spring, we have only to notice a cold, wild desert, waking from a cold, long sleep, the frozen flesh, through which the unquenchable flame of life is successfully borne through dark, mortal portals, to a living light the bright sun. That is just the beginning, as from that point on, every plant and flower flourishes and grows until the country is covered with crops, and with colors of every type.

Blooming of Life

That renewed life continues to grow and ripen through the bright, lrestful days of Summer, until all of nature is overflowing, with crops and fruits, until the branches are bowing to the ground with the weight of ripe fruit and perfect flowers, but each day stretches its finger towards the coming Harvest, and a hawk's eye is kept on matters, and in the ripe, fruitful days of the Autumn is performed the reaping, the harvesting, the gathering, and the stacking, so that we have a sufficiently large store of food stored for the Winter.

Féile na Samhna gives a festive start to the season of decay and death. In the old days, eating blackberries was taboo from Halloween onwards. Spades, shovels, scythes, sickles, and other farming implements were put aside, as they would not be needed again until after St. Bridget’s s Day. Bit by bit, leaves, flowers, and vegetation of all kinds decay and decompose, until in the end, only bare limbs and veins, are visible between us and the light.

Silence

A complete silence falls on the stirring, soulful music of the birds, and around us we see only our old friends, the robins, wrens and sparrows, but even in the case of those same birds, their music loses its spirit, the challenge, and the vitality, which they contain during the seasons of growth, flourishing and maturity. This is also the season when humanity is tormented with its stinging, painful cold, a cold that goes to our very core. But, above all, this is the season that reminds humanity that it does not have a permanent city in this Valley of Tears, as they can see how flora and fauna; leaves and flowers all wither and die; yes, and how the weather affects all living beings, slowing them down, silencing them, and weakening them, and even, how nature (itself) is not let sleep during this whole season by some petty folk, so that they can survive far into the future.. But, if Winter is the season of death and sleep, it is also the season of life and hope, as we understand that it will not be long before the creatures of nature will be revived again, in the glorious, colorful resurrection of Spring. Patience and hope is what we need during the Winter season, or as the old saying goes, 'God's grace comes with patience' and 'patience gets strength'.

Filleann an feall ar an bhfeallaire!

What goes around comes around!

by | 2022/10/26 | International News, Politics

What goes around comes around!

The United Kingdom’s nightmare began way back in 2016 when David Cameron, the country’s Prime Minister at the time, announced an election on the question of Brexit. He misread the situation badly, as he did not think there was any chance that the majority of the public would choose to leave the European Union. He wrote the following in his autobiography: “I accept that my approach has failed. The decisions I made contributed to that failure. I failed.” I think he didn’t know at the time how bad that failure was, and how things would unfold afterwards.

By the time the Tories recognized how serious the mistakes were, they were unable to change their tune, and continued with the fallacy, like lemmings approaching the cliff.

In 2019 Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is now business secretary, was talking about the ‘expansive, sunny uplands waiting for us thanks to Brexit.’ But the facts tell their own story – a different story altogether, and it cannot be denied that the pound has fallen steadily against the dollar over the past six years, sliding over 23% during that period. The lack of political stability cannot be denied either. Liz Truss was the fourth Prime Minister in the Brexit era so far, with another coming soon. Worse than that, Jeremy Hunt is the fourth Chancellor of the Exchequer in the last four months. I recently read an interesting article in the ‘Telegraph’ where it said that the UK is more like Italy than France or Germany, in terms of its economy and political stability. For example, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the UK has grown by just 10% in the period 2015-2022, compared to 24% in Germany and 18% in France.

Significant Incompetence

Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng (then Chancellor of the Exchequer) put together their mini budget without any consultation stage with their party. That’s a red flag, in my opinion.

That mini-budget contained 45 billion pounds in unfunded tax cuts, which upset financial markets, weakened the value of the pound and increased borrowing costs for the UK government. The Bank of England had to intervene to avoid a wider financial crisis. But the market, the British public, and even Truss” Party itself demanded more. Truss had to sacrifice Kwarteng to save herself, and appointed Jeremy Hunt instead.

Jeremy Hunt immediately canceled the most expensive provisions in the mini budget and in particular the tax cuts for the wealthy. The market was pleased with these actions, and the foreign exchange rate and security prices settled down again.

Truss vs the lettuce

But Prime Minister Truss was still in big trouble as many politicians were demanding that she resign immediately. The UK media made a meal of the story, and the ‘Economist’ and the ‘Daily Star’ put Truss and lettuce side by side, asking which will last longer. When Home Affairs Secretary Suella Braverman sent an official email from her personal account, she had to resign. It was clear that things were quickly falling apart, and a few days later, Truss herself resigned. The lettuce won!

Lesson to learn?

In the coming months, the people of the UK will see brutal spending cuts, strikes in several sectors, power cuts, and under-resourced hospitals struggling to provide care.

One day, the British government will have to tell its citizens that the country must reunite with Europe or continue the Brexit fantasy, committing economic suicide as a result.

It was not right to hold a referendum on Brexit in the first place. That is the duty of the government, and it is a terrible decision to place that important duty on the people of the country, people who do not have enough information to make an informed decision.

This is a master class, showing the ‘domino effect’ that can occur after one bad decision has been made by the Government of the country. As for the UK, although we don’t know what is the next ‘domino’ that will fall, there is no doubt that another one will fall before long!

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Ceist na nDíolúintí!

The question of exemptions!

by | 2022/10/19 | Current Affairs, National News, Politics

The question of exemptions!

I was in the Castle gardens the other day; stretched out completely from head to tail, relaxed and peacefully drinking in golden sun, when I heard the sharp, ear-splitting whistle, a whistle that woke me up from my sleep suddenly! But I realized in an instant who was to me, as who else but my old friend, Séimí an Droichid, would do the likes inside the heavenly gardens of the Castle. I welcomed him, and made a place for him beside me on the garden bench.

“Sit there beside me on this bench” I said to him, politely.

“Thank you very much,” he said, “and isn’t this a wonderful place you chose to meditate?”

“You said it my friend, but do you have any news on this blessed day?”

“I only have the story that is on the lips of every Irish speaker these days.”

“And what is his story?” I said, trying to provide a story telling opportunity to mad Séimí, as it seemed to me that he had some story to tell.

The Language Question

“You have probably noticed that a series of meetings of the Irish Joint Committee on the exemptions system is currently taking place?” said Séimí.

“I didn’t! Is there a big problem with our current system of exemptions, Séimí?” I wanted to develop an understanding on this topic.

“A very big problem, and if things continue like this, we won’t have a living language before long. There have been those unsupportive of the status of our language for a long time. There was a movement against the Irish language called “Language Freedom Movement” in the nineteen sixties, for example. The result of their campaign was the abolition of the requirement for civil servants to speak Irish since 1974. As a result, there were only 16 employees to deal with the Irish-speaking community in 2018 – a disgrace!”

“But,” I said, “the main goal of the Languages ​​Act 2021 is for 20% of new public service recruits to be competent in Irish before the end of 2030. Isn’t that a good thing?” I asked Séimí this question, seeking an antidote to his negative attitude towards the language.

Three steps back…

“Three steps back, and then only one step forward!” answered Séimí. “And these exemptions are just another step backwards. Initially, these exemptions were for exceptional cases – for pupils with special needs. But after a while, those rules were relaxed, and now quite a few parents are taking advantage of the flexibility of the rules, in order to get an exemption for their children – children who would not have a problem learning Irish, because more than half of them are learning other languages ​​without any question of exemption.”

“But maybe with the right management a scheme like this would work, wouldn’t it?” I said, asking Séimí the probing question.

“Whatever the Department of Education is doing, the scheme is not working well at all. And I’m not alone in that thought. Declan Glynn, assistant general secretary of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI), said that the system currently in place is “flawed and unsatisfactory”, and that it is now so easy to get an exemption that anyone would be forgiven for thinking it was mainly an automatic process.

Other representatives attending the meetings agreed with the opinion that there should be a curriculum for all students at whatever level of ability they are at and questioned the right to use ‘stress’ or ‘specific language learning disability’ as an excuse to demand an exemption. They are right, in my opinion, Michael, and this problem needs to be solved soon.”

“Well, Sam, I have to agree with you, because it’s clear you’ve done your homework well on the subject, and I didn’t have my eyes on that ball at all. Thanks for being patient with me, and I hope our government will do the right thing and put much stricter rules in place!”

“Me too! Nice to meet you in this wonderful place, Michael, as we discuss important matters together in Irish!

With that, Séimí left without delay, and I was left to my own devices with a new topic to with important matters for my consideration!

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Léirmheas: An Cailín Ciúin!

Review: An Cailín Ciúin

by | 2022/10/12 | Reviews

Review: An Cailín Ciúin

When I was attending Coláiste na Rinne in the summer, I had the opportunity to see the Irish film ‘An Cailín Ciúin’ at the Movies@Dungarvan cinema in Dúngarbhán. It’s a great film, and it’s no wonder it’s won a lot of awards so far, with maybe a few more to come!

‘An Cailín Ciúin’ was the first Irish language film to win the Irish Academy Award (IFTA) for best film. It received a total of 7 IFTAs. It also broke box office records in Ireland and Great Britain, earning around one million Euros to date, more than four times more than any other Irish language film ever.

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Colm Barrett creates a beautiful film

This film is a wonderful adaptation of the novel ‘Foster’ by Claire Keegan, and this lonely story is brought to life on the big screen in beautiful ways. Director/writer Colm and his team had to recreate rural life in Ireland in the nineteen eighties, and they did so effectively, down to the smallest detail like Bunny Carr on TV producing the show Quicksilver’ (hence the popular expression in Ireland: ‘Stop the lights!’). The use of Irish greatly adds to the atmosphere and authenticity of the film, without a doubt, and shows us that we are able to express things in Irish that cannot be done in the same way in English.

Selection of Actors

Catherine Clinch (twelve years old)’is remarkable in her first screen role as Cáit (nine years old). It’s a very difficult role, because this quiet girl doesn’t have much to say, and she has to use a wide range of facial expressions to tell the story. Despite how young Catherine is and that this is her first role, she demonstrates masterful acting.

Catherine’s family is struggling, surviving from hand to mouth. Worse than that, her father (Micheál Patric) is an alcoholic bully and her mother (Cáit Nic Cononaigh) is overwhelmed with family duties, and is now pregnant again. Cáit and Micheál do a good job as the dysfunctional parents in the film.

They put their daughter in the care of her mother’s cousin, Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley) and her husband, a quiet farmer, Seán (Andrew Bennett), in County Waterford. This is where most of the action in the film takes place, and Eibhlín and Andrew are great as foster parents, providing an exciting and nurturing environment for Cáit for the first time.

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An Plota

The Quiet Girl is set in 1981 in rural Ireland. Cáit is a girl who keeps her emotions suppressed, because her parents don’t care for her or love her, because they are too busy with their own problems. They are barely able to put food on the table, and as a result, they make the decision to leave Cáit with foster parents for the summer. At first Cáit locks her feelings deeper inside, but soon she develops and blossoms with her new family.

Cáit is not the only one who needs some time to adjust to the new lifestyle. Eibhlín and Seán handle it in different ways. Ebhlín welcomes Cáit in with open arms, and she feels immense sympathy for the young girl. But Seán shows a coldness to her at first, and it takes time for him to accept her into his heart. Eibhlín and Seán also have a big secret, but I won’t reveal it here – you have to see the film!

But as a result, Cáit and her foster parents have things to learn from each other as they rediscover what love means.

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Conclusion

Every frame in this truly magical film is a work of art. Kate McCullough did the cinematography for the film. She also did the cinematography on the TV series ‘Normal People’. She draws a stark contrast between Cáit’s family home (dark, gloomy) and her foster family home (bright, clean) to emphasize the plot itself. Together with a wonderful score from Stephen Rennicks, everything came together strongly so that Colm Barréad was able to overlay the story on that framework. I would give this worth-while, special film five out of five stars. If you haven’t already done so, I would recommend you go see ‘The Silent Girl”.

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