(Another) Thumbs Up For Ken Loach

Rating: 9/10 (10 May 2007)

I was beginning to wonder if this film was going to attract any distribution in the U.S. I guess the controversy in the U.K. didn't help matters any (the film was panned there). I've been a long time fan of the films of Ken Loach since I saw some of his work in the early 1980's. Loach has been a lightning rod for controversy for years now. 'The Wind That Shakes The Barley' (2006) will certainly cement Loach's rep for stirring up a tempest in a teapot. The plot concerns two brothers that starve for justice in 1920's Ireland,when the country was ruled with an iron hand by the British. It's a difficult film to watch at times (I won't say exactly why,so's not to ruin it for others), but well worth the occasional seat squirming to find out about a dark,sad tale of Irish social history). If you can find an art cinema that is screening this, run,don't walk to see it.