The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Name: The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Genre: Drama, History, War
Released: March 16, 2007
Duration: 127 min
Rating: 82
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Liam Cunningham, Padraic Delaney

2007

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 30 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 75 Ratings

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7.9

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7.9	Your Score
7.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 75 Ratings

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The Wind That Shakes The Barley

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC First Take | Release Date: March 16, 2007 | Not Rated

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Liam Cunningham, Padraic Delaney

Summary: In this historical drama, two brothers find themselves on opposing sides in Ireland's struggle for freedom from Britain.

Director: Ken Loach

Genre(s): Drama, History, War

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 127 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Michael Wilmington

A beautiful film, harrowing, tough and rife with grief. Read full review

100

Michael Sragow

Takes a chaotic moment in the long history of "the Troubles" and turns it into a keening, air-clearing epic. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

The Wind That Shakes the Barley turns out to be a more complicated, more dramatically potent story than it appears at first. It's concerned at its core not with how bad the British were but with what the cost of dealing with them was for the Irish. Read full review

David Edelstein

That title would suit a melodrama with an emphasis on doomed love, which is not what Loach has crafted. There is a (chaste) love story and plenty of bloodletting. But what engages him and his screenwriter, Paul Laverty, is the growing tension between brother Irish rebels. Read full review

Josh Rosenblatt

Paul Laverty's script is a masterpiece of ambivalent populism. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Intermittently gripping, but overlong. Read full review

Ray Bennett

Atmospheric but pedestrian, it is a retelling of the classic tragedy of all civil wars, from the U.S. to Vietnam to England, where brother is pitched against brother. Read full review

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User Reviews

saccyind

Jul 29, 2011

Cilian Murphy Was AMAZING,The Whole Film Was Brilliant With Brilliant Filmmaking And Superb Acting,Mesmerizing Music,Cinematography Was Excellent.

Great Film

10/10.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

NeilM.

Apr 28, 2007

One of the most powerful films ive ever seen. People unfamiliar with Irish history may be confused by the politics. Do not confuse the modern day IRA with the one presented in the film, not the same. Loach could probably got a load of Hollywood actors to star in this one like almost all One of the most powerful films ive ever seen. People unfamiliar with Irish history may be confused by the politics. Do not confuse the modern day IRA with the one presented in the film, not the same. Loach could probably got a load of Hollywood actors to star in this one like almost all othe Irish films and the result is obvious... its REAL.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

Alexandra

May 6, 2007

Heartbreakingly beautiful. An extremly well done film, wonderful acting, and beautiful cinematography. I found it to be a very moving story.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JoeM.

Sep 24, 2007

A good faithful account. Some would say that the movie was boring. But they're just Americans who think that Ireland at this time was like warfare in Iraq.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JLuis_001

Feb 11, 2020

Not as bleak as I heard it was but still it was a really good war film. Especially from a theme I really don't know much about.

Cillian Murphy was great here by the way.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ChadS.

Oct 21, 2007

Damien(Cillian Murphy) is the one with brains, London-bound, a future doctor. He's educated. He's supposed to be the sanest of the bunch. Alas, Damien is the trigger-man when it's time to execute a young Irish farmhand to an English baron who sold his mates out to the enemy. Damien(Cillian Murphy) is the one with brains, London-bound, a future doctor. He's educated. He's supposed to be the sanest of the bunch. Alas, Damien is the trigger-man when it's time to execute a young Irish farmhand to an English baron who sold his mates out to the enemy. Instead of saving lives, he's ending them. Just in case we missed the irony, he tells us. Does the filmmaker show too heavy a hand in exemplifying the horrors of a civil war? That's debatable. War isn't subtle, and yet, you have to wonder if Damien's transformation from a reluctant soldier to a cold-blooded murderer is entirely organic, or the grand gesture of a radicalized filmmaker. Nevertheless, this particular scene, and Damien's ensuing comeuppance is riveting stuff. "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" works. At least the filmmaker shows some restraint. The niceties of English culture are largely kept off-screen. There's no tea-time, no crumpets, no butlers in penguin suits. Also, the most heroic deed is performed by a young English soldier.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

PatG.

Mar 23, 2007

Well--after 50 minutes of nothing but bloody beatings and shootings and close-ups of anguished, wailing women, my husband and I left the theater. It was brutal. If an actual story takes place in this movie, it must be well after the first hour. Sorry. I know this subject is important, but Well--after 50 minutes of nothing but bloody beatings and shootings and close-ups of anguished, wailing women, my husband and I left the theater. It was brutal. If an actual story takes place in this movie, it must be well after the first hour. Sorry. I know this subject is important, but watching that first hour was torture. Enter at your own peril.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

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