Moving

Rating: 10/10 (29 August 2011)

I have to admit for the first ten minutes of the movie I was trying to decipher the thick accents of the Irish actors. I thought it was troublesome at first, but as the movie continued I realized without the accents the scene really wouldn't have been set.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley is an incredibly powerful film. It is centered around the rather bloody Irish revolution against the British, (which for revolutions, was actually rather recent) but goes deeper into the conflict than the fighting. Cillian Murphy proves himself to be a fine actor as the movie progresses. The movie shows that both sides were not correct as both the British and the Irish committed crimes. Not only is the violence of war horrific, but so is the effect on the minds of those who are involved. For the Irish, it starts with pure intentions and then snowballs into something deadly.
As an American viewer, it is a bit hard to understand and stomach at first. But for me it became a testament of Irish history, the struggles those involved in the conflict faced as well as the artistry of Irish film making.
With that said, it deserves ten out of ten.