I’m English and we don’t even celebrate St George’s Day, so I don’t expect anyone else to!
There’s Guinness in my house. Lots of it.
Bottoms up (not sheep ones though), House!
Thankfully, there are no sheep about, so I’ll not be tempted. My wife better watch out, tho.
Lol! Are you the type that sticks your hand under her bottom right before she sits down, for a cheap thrill?
Of course! You add up enough cheap thrills and eventually somebody’s ready to go! ;)
I guess these aren’t necessarily films that celebrate the Irish heritage but…oh well. Here goes:
-State Of Grace
-Boondock Saints
-My Left Foot
-Odine
@House – How often did you get drunk while in Ireland? How’s the Jameson and Guinness there compared to America?
Boondock Saints is the ultimate Irish movie for me.
Too bad I had 7.5 hrs of class today, a 1000 word paper to write, and a test to study for tomorrow…..
:(
Every single day, without fail. My brother and I would wander around whatever town we were in and invariably find the greatest group of people who immediately accepted us into their fold and took care of us the whole evening.
The Guinness is so good there I was having it with lunch. Didn’t try the Jameson.
I, for whatever reason, opted to drink Stella this evening instead of Guiness. Either way, I got a bit drunk so I did my part to celebrate the holiday.
Once would be my choice (but I didn’t realize it was an Irish film). The first film that came to mind was The Quiet Man, but I only liked that because I had the hots for Maureen O’Hara.
@Odi
I need to see Secret of the Kells.
The thing about St. Patty’s day is that it’s a good excuse to eat corned beef and cabbage! (If there were something yummy to eat on St.George’s Day, I’d consider celebrating that, too. Food before country, sorry. :)
I shoulda bought some Lucky Charms.
Best film about Ireland (though not an Irish film): How Green Was My Valley .
Intermission is a great film. Very good cast and a cracking story. Well worth two hours of anyones time.
Ha, Nathan, i must admit the Irish-Americanness of How Green was my Valley i found quite irritating and off-putting. Maybe i should give it another go and maybe yes it should be given treble nationality.Talking of the Welsh Valleys….
@Odilonvert: the sheep on the hills near Treorchy in the Rhondda valley are far from shy. I stopped in a car park/layby for the ice cream van- by the time i was back at the car door, i was surrounded by dozens of sheep who’d appeared almost from nowhere. One was clambering up me for a nibble of ice cream. I had a struggle to get back safely inside the car without being submerged in the scrum.
Ireland is a popular country. A darker side is explored in The Magdalene Sisters by a Scottish director- the sort of thing the Catholic church would rather was hushed up. It had a strong hold on social attitudes, the gender double standards towards sex, “naughty” girls needing strict punishment. In Britain too, it was long considered shameful to be pregnant when unmarried (in some quarters it still is). So many adoptions and families destroyed as a result. My own birth mother was given a terrible time in a Dickensian home which ruined her life. And hardly helped mine, so many years later. In Ireland it went on longer. That film is a hard one. Punitive “moral” and “religious” attitudes go hang.
Ken Loach’s The Wind Will Shake the Barley is a very interesting look at not only the struggle against the oppressive British imperialists, but also then between Leftist idealism and what might be considered political pragmatism or betrayal of pure ideals. Loach’s Hidden Agenda shows how the British were getting up to no good in the North of Ireland. Of course it got up quite a few noses in UK. Paul Greengrass’s Bloody Sunday is pretty good too- a pity he went all Hollywood.
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Yeah, the U.S. is really missing a helluva lot on not celebrating St. George’s Day …
But yeah, I’ve never understood the American fondness of St. Patrick’s Day. I mean, it’s just an excuse for binge drinking isn’t it? Not necessarily out of some patriotic (or ex-patriotic) inclination. What’s the deal? Not that I’m complaining, but still.
The first film that came to mind was The Quiet Man, but I only liked that because I had the hots for Maureen O’Hara. – Jazz
I second you, I mean, that … in that I mean, O’Hara.
Maybe St George’s Day should be integrated with a Shakespeare day. He died and may have been born 23rd April. If Mizoguchi was the Shakespeare of film, Shakespeare was the Shakespare of writing. He was only 51 when he died, packed so many riches into that life. St George wasn’t English, whereas the immortal bard has a claim to be the greatest of all English (if people really should be ranked for greatness)
I love the scenery in the Quiet Man and it hits some fine romantic spots, though dragging a woman across a field to get her respect isn’t quite my idea of an ideal relationship or gender equality. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do, especially with a fiery redhead who has a bruiser of a dad. Ford has defenders here against being considered reactionary so maybe i shouldn’t be too quick to pass judgment. On the other hand the “poetic” qualities in his films get short shrift from some. Because O’Hara looked him properly in the eye, Wayne said it helped him react, rather than act. For him, she was always one of the good guys. He saw manhood as not looking for a fight but not backing away from one either. So i guess the film suited him
Well, for anyone who doesn’t like The Quiet Man, there is always Jim Sheridan’s film The Field which tells virtually the same story but reverses the perspective to being from the Irish bruiser’s perspective. Personally, I love both films and think they should be viewed together to get a broader experience with a different tone to each. The Quiet Man from the Irishman looking back fondly at his homeland, and The Field with the Irishman taking a cold hard look at his home and land.
@Deckard — unfortunately the binge drinking is associated with the holiday. But as my in-laws are all 100% Irish, it’s also an opportunity to celebrate being Irish, period. (for them, lol)
@Kenji — saw The Magdalene Sisters. Unfortunately the harshness is most truly a part of Ireland’s past. The stories my in-laws have told me, the clergy basically had unquestioned power, which meant they could abuse as much as they wanted in the name of The Church. Horrible, and yes, scarring.
The best Irish film is “Mise Eire”. Fantastic.
We could do with The Field on Mubi
The best Irish film is “Mise Eire”. I think I mentioned that.
House of Leaves
Kenji—I was there about ten years ago. He looked sprightly to me. He did this funny thing where he would swim around us for about five minutes and then take off. He’d swim out so that the guy in the dinghy would drive out and get him. He did this repeatedly and I realized that it was a game he was playing—making the boat chase him.
Fascinating, and a great, unique time. There won’t always be a dolphin in Dingle Bay…