One revolution, two heroes

Thomas 2022-04-21 09:02:43

If it weren't for St. Patrick's Day, I don't think I might have thought of going to see an Irish movie, even though she was the best film winner at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. But it is in this festival that belongs to Ireland, it is more meaningful to get familiar with the history of Ireland. In the past, my impression of Ireland was mostly the Irish Republican Army, and I felt that in the domestic propaganda, these revolutionary armies seemed to be equated with separatists. However, this film about the predecessor of the IRA, but let people see the other side of the revolution.

The film background, titled "The Wind That Shakes The Barley", begins with Ireland's quest for independence in 1920. The story begins with a young man who insisted on using the Speaking of his name in Irish, he ended up being beaten to death. A group of young people began to organize guerrillas to resist the repression of the British army. One of the protagonists of the film, Damien and his brother Teddy, driven by a strong sense of patriotism and responsibility, also joined the guerrillas and risked their lives together. fight for freedom. The first half of the film has been about how they fought, how they were arrested, how they hoeed, and how they sacrificed (the specific plot can imagine the railroad guerrillas or the plains guerrillas). Among them, Teddy was unfortunately arrested. Under the torture of pulling his nails by the British army, the part of still not selling out his comrades reminded me of Sister Jiang. In the end, the guerrillas finally accepted the British treaty and ushered in "peace". If the film ends here, it is actually possible, after all, more than an hour has passed. However, the story that happened after that reflects the depth and debate of the film. The Damiens don't think this is the freedom they are after. They feel that they should continue to resist in order to obtain complete freedom and democracy, not the current semi-democracy. They took out the oath of the year and asked the Teddys why they didn't continue to fight. But the Teddy think that if there is another revolution, the British will be angry and the war will intensify, so why not stop there. So the story goes back to the beginning. The people who were oppressed were still poor, but the brutal British army was replaced by Teddy in uniform. The two brothers who fought side by side were pushed to the cusp of the storm due to their different political opinions, and they became mortal enemies. In the end, Damien was arrested, and the prison was still the same prison, but the comrade-in-arms who sang the song together was no longer there. Teddy is already the highest officer here, and asked the same question that the British asked back then: "Where are your accomplices?" So Damien sat quietly at the table by himself and began to write a suicide note for his lover... In the end, Teddy cried and ordered Damien to be executed (reminds me of Damian's execution of a young traitor in the first half, also with his face full of fear, his body shaking, his footwork wobbly. But in the end the bullets took out lives with precision) .

In the first half, Teddy was a veritable hero, courageous and unyielding in the face of torture; daring and fearless in designing ambush. In the second half, Damien, the idealist, claimed to be a realist and insisted on violent resistance after the peace talks, becoming the most determined and uncompromising one. It is precisely because he is so determined and uncompromising that he has become the "terrorist" to be eliminated. In the end, it is right to continue being a revolutionary, or to cultivate and rest. The film challenges every audience. I also asked myself, but I could not answer this question.

At the end of the film, Damien's lover cried bitterly on the small piece of land in his home. This land has been devastated from the beginning of the film, and this ending is still happening in today's world.

WHY WE KILL EACH OTHER?

PS Stumbled across the review I wrote today after seeing this movie in the UK. Movies are free, and the day of the movie is St. Patrick's Day.

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Extended Reading
  • Kale 2022-03-22 09:02:09

    6.5 "If we dare to speak the truth of history, then we dare to speak the truth of today." - Ken Lodge

  • Rosemary 2022-03-28 09:01:06

    Standard melodrama. The emotion of the story itself is very moving, and the filming is very careful, and the calm narrative is self-seeking. But not objectively.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley quotes

  • Damien: It's easy to know what you are against, but quite another to know what you are for.

  • Finbar: [the IRA have just gunned down several Black and Tans] Mercenaries! That were paid to come over here to make us crawl, and to wipe us out. We've just sent a message to the British cabinet that will echo and reverbarate around the world! If they bring their savagery over here, we will meet it with a savagery of our own!