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Movie Review for Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
Movie Review for
Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
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Wind That Shakes the Barley, The | | |
| Also known as: | The Wind That Shook the Barley |
94 Reviews total.
Release date: 3/16/2007
Run length: 124 mins.
Categories:
Art/Foreign
,
Drama
,
War
Summary:
Ireland 1920: workers from field and country unite to form volunteer guerrilla armies to face the ruthless "Black and Tan" squads that are being shipped from Britain to block Ireland's bid for independence. Driven by a deep sense of duty and a love for his country, Damien abandons his burgeoning career as a doctor and joins his brother, Teddy, in a dangerous and violent fight for freedom. As the freedom fighters’ bold tactics bring the British to breaking point, both sides finally agree to a treaty to end the bloodshed. But, despite the apparent victory, civil war erupts and families, who fought side by side, find themselves pitted against one another as sworn enemies, putting their loyalties to the ultimate test.
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Marcy Dermansky
of About.com (7/0)
At 124 minutes, the heartfelt drama comes across as pedantic and tedious. Cillian Murpy, fortunat...
By
Phil Villarreal
of Arizona Daily Star (7/0)
Director Ken Loach borrows the title of his 1920s Irish insurrection drama "The Wind That Shakes ...
By
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (7/0)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley isn't interested in being a straightforward or romanticized histo...
By
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (7/0)
A troubling and provocative look at the Irish troubles.
By
Josh Rosenblatt
of Austin Chronicle (7/0)
Loach and his cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd, paint a grim realist portrait in muted tones that c...
By
Matthew Leyland
of BBC (7/0)
The film increasingly short-changes the personal for the sake of the political, despite powerful ...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Wesley Morris
of Boston Globe (7/0)
...the historical scope of this story...seems to have drained some of the life from its telling.
By
Michael Wilmington
of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
[Loach is] the master of the docu-drama or the realist social film, and Wind is one of his master...
By
Jules Brenner
of Cinema Signals (7/0)
This history lesson about Ireland's struggle for independence diffuses the drama under the weight...
By
Jeffrey M. Anderson
of Combustible Celluloid (7/0)
Loach manages to depict the film's violence, romance, action and politics each with the same grav...
By
Harvey S. Karten
of Compuserve (7/0)
The Irish dialogue is sometimes difficult to understand butthis is a good primer on the Irish reb...
By
Robert Denerstein
of Denver Rocky Mountain News (7/0)
[Loach] has made an often handsome, always sobering movie that does what the best movies do: leav...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Jeff Vice
of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (7/0)
There are large portions here that are universally relatable, particularly the film's themes abou...
By
Emanuel Levy
of EmanuelLevy.Com (7/0)
While always sincere, this account of the British-Irish conflict circa 1920, is too conventional ...
By
Damon Wise
of Empire Magazine (7/0)
A bold attempt to convey a complex situation that captures the anger and tensions of early-20th c...
By
Owen Gleiberman
of Entertainment Weekly (7/0)
The ferocity of Loach's moral wrath carries the movie...
By
Maria Garcia
of Film Journal International (7/0)
It's a dissertation, not a story.
By
Matthew Sorrento
of Film Threat (7/0)
A social drama so well built that it can pump out thrills while fueling Damian's motivation.
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Chris Cabin
of filmcritic.com (7/0)
...the politics outweigh the poetry...
By
Kent Turner
of Film-Forward.com (7/0)
Wind's not necessarily for the armchair historian; it's more gut-wrenching than intellectual.
By
Lisa Johnson
of FilmStew.com (7/0)
The film’s star refused to comment on the similarities between Ireland and Iraq when he spoke to ...
By
Rob Vaux
of Flipside Movie Emporium (7/0)
It transforms the simplistic polemic of the early scenes into something much deeper and more comp...
By
Eric Lurio
of Greenwich Village Gazette (7/0)
This is one heck of a scary movie.
By
Peter Canavese
of Groucho Reviews (7/0)
Gracefully condenses the complicated history of the Irish Troubles in ways both literal and alleg...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Peter Bradshaw
of Guardian [UK] (7/0)
It is a finely made, finely acted piece of work. For this, and for his remarkable and uncompromis...
By
Ray Bennett
of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
Well-meant but ordinary and familiar civil war tale.
By
Jim Slotek
of Jam! Movies (7/0)
... a wonderfully shot, easy-to-follow primer for those of us who may find the history of 'the tr...
By
S. James Wegg
of JWR (7/0)
Director Ken Loach has courageously put death, destruction and discourse all over the screen, suc...
By
James Sanford
of Kalamazoo Gazette (7/0)
the intensity of Murphy and Delaney's performances is shattering... 'Wind' never loses sight of t...
By
Scott Foundas
of L.A. Weekly (7/0)
A profound consideration of the fog of wars that rage between not only nations but, all too often...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Josh Bell
of Las Vegas Weekly (7/0)
Loach remains focused on the personal, which serves best to highlight the seriousness of the poli...
By
Prairie Miller
of Long Island Press (7/0)
Bid for a genuine sense of history unraveling as strict realism, with currents of immense human h...
By
Glenn Whipp
of Los Angeles Daily News (7/0)
It does [make for good drama], though at times its didacticism can be a bit wearying.
By
Matt Pais
of Metromix.com (7/0)
Will only satisfy anyone whose preferred source of entertainment is watching A&E.
By
Marta Barber
of Miami Herald (7/0)
The Wind that Shakes the Barley is a multi-layered story, and the more you see those different as...
By
Duane Dudek
of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/0)
A scenic bit of agitprop that can be as easy on the eyes as it is soft on the ear, even when it's...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Ron Wilkinson
of Monsters and Critics (7/0)
A plain-spoken film of true grit that tells the dishonorable heartbreak of war like it is. A gem...
By
Chris Cabin
of MovieWeb (7/0)
Ultimately, the politics outweigh the poetry ... but it succeeds despite its hesitations and far-...
By
Ted Murphy
of Murphy's Movie Reviews (7/0)
Laverty's screenplay is not a simple-minded exercise, although there is a schematic aspect to it....
By
Jack Mathews
of New York Daily News (7/0)
... Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley may be the most powerful look yet at the guerrill...
By
David Edelstein
of New York Magazine (7/0)
The acting is solid all around -- so convincing that the rough Irish accents are appropriately in...
By
Kyle Smith
of New York Post (7/0)
...raises hard questions about Ireland's uncanny ability to kneecap itself.
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
A. O. Scott
of New York Times (7/0)
...as alive and as troubling as anything on the evening news, though far more thoughtful and beau...
By
David Denby
of New Yorker (7/0)
Refusing the standard flourishes of Irish wildness or lyricism, Loach has made a film for our mom...
By
Kam Williams
of NewsBlaze (7/0)
Winner of the Best Film at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, this powerful political saga is not mer...
By
Jan Stuart
of Newsday (7/0)
Folks who are heavily invested in stereotypes of thuggish terrorists may balk at Loach's portrait...
By
David Ansen
of Newsweek (7/0)
The Wind that Shakes the Barley is dense, brutal, with moments of shattering emotional power, and...
By
Ethan Alter
of NYC Film Critic (7/0)
It's not a great movie and perhaps not even one of Loach's best, but it is a solidly made, deeply...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Frank Swietek
of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
Though Loach's film loses some of its dramatic impetus in the second half, it illuminates the eve...
By
Noel Murray
of Onion AV Club (7/0)
[Director] Loach and [co-screenwriter] Laverty are still capable of creating moments startling in...
By
Shawn Levy
of Oregonian (7/0)
There are moments that stir, and it's always lovely, but it's generally too remote to gain hold o...
By
Jeanne Aufmuth
of Palo Alto Weekly (7/0)
Alternately winsome and sadistic but always with an eye on the prize: freedom.
By
Sean Burns
of Philadelphia Weekly (7/0)
A Gaelic cousin to Spielberg's Munich, it's haunting stuff.
By
Cynthia Fuchs
of PopMatters (7/0)
Though the film uses a familiar narrative form -- two brothers torn apart -- it does so in a way ...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
David N. Butterworth
of rec.arts.movies.reviews (7/0)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley has a sober, authentic, down-to-earth feel to it.
By
Louis Proyect
of rec.arts.movies.reviews (7/0)
A dramatic interpretation of the Irish war of independence that is relevant to today's world. The...
By
Pam Grady
of Reel.com (7/0)
... Loach tells a horrifying, moving, and completely mesmerizing tale.
By
Donald J. Levit
of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (7/0)
'The Wind That Shakes the Barley' descends to more Old Sod cinecliché than Titanic's belowdecks.
By
Jack Garner
of Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (7/0)
Director Loach, one of Britain's most controversial and socially aggressive filmmakers, here make...
By
Jim Emerson
of RogerEbert.com (4/3)
While this may be a historical piece, it's history told in the vivid present tense.
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Sean Means
of Salt Lake Tribune (7/0)
No matter your political stripe, this movie will move you to tears.
By
Larry Ratliff
of San Antonio Express-News (7/0)
Oh brother, where art thou politically?
By
David Elliott
of San Diego Union-Tribune (7/0)
Barry Ackroyd's wonderful imagery often gives a sense of vernal moisture, which adds to the sweat...
By
Ruthe Stein
of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
The film immediately has you in its thrall and doesn't let go...
By
Ruthe Stein
of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
The humanity that Loach and his compassionate screenwriter bring to their story prevents it from ...
By
Sean Axmaker
of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
It's unmistakably the work of aging cinema activist Ken Loach, who wears his social-justice heart...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Moira MacDonald
of Seattle Times (7/0)
You'll be heartbroken in the course of the film's two hours.
By
Rich Cline
of Shadows on the Wall (7/0)
Powerfully authentic, gripping and emotionally shattering.
By
Edward Lawrenson
of Sight and Sound (7/0)
Loach has made a film of uncompromising, wintry bleakness, haunted by death and ravaged ideals. T...
By
Jeremiah Kipp
of Slant Magazine (7/0)
As a document of the shape of political thought, the film is successful; but as a living, beating...
By
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
of Spirituality and Practice (7/0)
A poignant drama about Ireland in the 1920s and the violence that tears apart the fabric of commu...
By
Richard Schickel
of TIME Magazine (7/0)
... despite its length (over two hours) and some structural problems, it is an absorbing, worthwh...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Dave Calhoun
of Time Out (7/0)
A stirring lament for good human beings caught in the crossfire of history.
By
Joshua Rothkopf
of Time Out New York (7/0)
This dramatization of Ireland’s early struggles for independence falls short of a certain origina...
By
Tony Medley
of tonymedley.com (7/0)
...an action-packed, psychologically violent film that captures the little known history of the I...
By
Chris Barsanti
of ToxicUniverse.com (7/0)
A passionate and pitiless piece of work that fails only near the end when its internal political ...
By
Maitland McDonagh
of TV Guide's Movie Guide (7/0)
... powerful ...
By
Urban Cinefile Critics
of Urban Cinefile (7/0)
You'll get a buzz out of the sensitive filmmaking, superb, naturalistic performances with touches...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Enrique Buchichio
of Uruguay Total (7/0)
Un crudo relato sobre el movimiento independentista irlandés que confirma a Ken Loach como cineas...
By
Derek Elley
of Variety (7/0)
[The film] lacks the involving sweep of Loach's earlier historical-political yarn, Land and Freed...
By
Matthew Turner
of ViewLondon (7/0)
Murphy is terrific in the central role and his softly spoken, essentially passive demeanour is us...
By
Stephen Hunter
of Washington Post (7/0)
Director Ken Loach is full of astonishments. In this film, he stages raid and counter-raid, big g...
By
Susan Granger
of www.susangranger.com (7/0)
Bloody and brutal, evoking obvious, relevant comparisons between Ireland's internal conflicts and...
By
Steven Snyder
of Zertinet Movies (7/0)
A film that shows the slow push for freedom as the sticky, messy and lengthy process it really is...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Richard Mowe
of Boxoffice Magazine (3/4) No reference
It is heartening to see the veteran Loach receiving just recognition for a work that ranks alongs...
By
Rob Thomas
of Capital Times (Madison, WI) (3/4) No reference
While the film has its share of exciting battle scenes, Loach captures them with an almost detach...
By
Jonathan Rosenbaum
of Chicago Reader (3/4) No reference
As frequently happens in both Loach films and history, the betrayal of ideals, socialist and othe...
By
David Edwards
of Daily Mirror [UK] (6/1) No reference
Beautifully made it may be, but The Wind is a movie that engages the head while never troubling t...
By
Robert W. Butler
of Kansas City Star (3/4) No reference
The Wind That Shakes the Barley may want to view the world in black and white, but it’s honest en...
By
Andrew Sarris
of New York Observer (3/4) No reference
Ultimately, Barley is the antithesis of a feel-good entertainment -- but it is to be commended fo...
Reviews of Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
By
Stephen Whitty
of Newark Star-Ledger (3/4) No reference
A truly Irish tale, The Wind That Shakes the Barley demands some work from American audiences.
By
Jon Popick
of Planet Sick-Boy (3/4) No reference
I liked the way Loach let his camera run when his actors flubbed lines, but beyond that, Barley i...
By
Angela Baldassarre
of Sympatico.ca (6/1) No reference
A human drama about two brothers that, though questioning our notions of right and wrong, loses i...
By
Jeremy Heilman
of MovieMartyr.com (6/1) Not Reachable
Two or three scenes manage a forceful, punch-in-the-gut quality that wholly crystallizes the clea...
Movie Distributors
First Take (IFC) Production Companies
Sixteen Films
EMC Asset Management
Tornasol Films
Regent Capital
Matador Pictures
Filmstiftung NRW
Cineart
TV3 Ireland
Element Films Ltd.
U.K. Film Council
BIM Distribuzione
Pathe International
BiancaFilm
Irish Film Board (IFB)
Diaphana Distribution
Filmcoopi Zurich AG Movie Studios
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