Fantastic film - truly a 'must see'!

Rating: 10/10 (30 June 2006)

This is one of the most powerful films I have seen for many years. There has been a lot of tosh written and spoken about it being anti-English (or British) but in fact it is anti-war. Beautifully crafted, one is drawn into the fierce Irish independence struggle against the occupying British, who are removed, but the Irish are still expected to be part of the Empire. It all goes downhill from there, as the pro- and anti-Treaty factions split and the whole horror is re-run, but this time as internecine strife and all the tearing and shredding of loyalties civil war causes. Loach has managed to encapsulate all of this into an absolutely brilliant film. It is no wonder it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. The only surprise to me is that there are not long queues at the box-office.