The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) on Netflix
Damien O'Donovan is set to leave County Cork for a medical post in London. When British forces kill a friend, he stays and joins the IRA brigade his brother Teddy commands.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb7.5/1059,730 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes90%
Trailer
Plot summary
In County Cork in 1920, Damien O'Donovan is preparing to leave his village to practice medicine at a hospital in London. His brother Teddy commands the local IRA flying column. After a hurling match, Damien watches British Black and Tans shoot his friend for refusing to give his name in English, though he tells friends the war cannot be won. On his way out of town he sees soldiers trying to intimidate a railway employee who will not let them board, and he changes his mind, staying to be sworn into Teddy's brigade. The column drills in the mountains, then raids the village's Royal Irish Constabulary barracks for arms and uses the captured weapons against Auxiliary units.
Cast
- Mary O'Riordanas Peggy (as Mary Riordan)
- Laurence Barryas Micheail
- Myles Horganas Rory
- Martin Luceyas Congo
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Commercial interest in the UK was so low that only 30 prints were planned for distribution there, compared with 300 in France; after the Palme d'Or the film appeared on 105 screens across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- The Respect Party, whose national council director Ken Loach sat on at the time, publicly urged people to see the film on its opening weekend specifically to pressure cinemas into giving it a wider theatrical release.
- The film became the highest-grossing Irish-made independent film ever released in Ireland, a record it held for five years before The Guard surpassed it in 2011.
- A number of the film's extras were drawn from local Scout groups, including ones from Bandon, Togher and Macroom.
SPOILER
The lead character's execution scene was filmed at a real historic Dublin jail where actual leaders of Irish rebellions had once been imprisoned and executed.
