The Wind That Shakes the Barley

I thought the film "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" was an insightful, albeit depressing, look into the British control over Ireland and the violence that characterized it. I thought it was interesting how there was no clear-cut sense of good vs. bad that would usually be in movies of this nature. Obviously, the British soldiers were dispicable in their treatment of Irish people, but the violence that Irishmen like Damien turned to actually made it harder to distinguish the Irish from the British. I think this is best illustrated in the speech after the gunfight on the hill, which says "If they bring their savagery over here, we will meet it with a savagery of our own!”. Here, it is clear that the Irish have become the type of violent monsters the British soldiers are, even though they are violent for a different cause.

I also thought the end was very depressing, but it was also very fitting. As the screen fades out to the sobs and wails of Sinead, the movie ends without any resolution. The only difference is that the violence is now Irish vs. Irish rather than British vs. Irish. This ending shows how all the violence led to no real changes, and symbolized unending fighting and struggle that would plague the island for years.