Ken Loach, anglophobe

Rating: 6/10 (30 January 2007)

We all know that Ken Loach is left wing but this film is a bit over the top.
I normally admire Loach'es work - one of my favourite films is his Truffaut homage, Kes - yet Wind that Shakes the Barley is just a bit too anti-British. Okay, the Black and Tans must have been horrific, but what about the Republicans? It's just that we only see one side of the story in this film, just totally biased.
Black and Tans are shown pillaging the villages around Cork, wanton destruction and the like. It is just too one-sided, like a Tom and Jerry cartoon.
Otherwise, the filming is fantastic, full of lush, green countryside, just like in Devon. The acting is superb, too.
Worth watching, but not as good as Neil Jordan's Michael Collins. Too rural by half (not even any action in Cork city).