The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Cillian Murphy stars as a young doctor swept up in the Anglo-Irish War in Ken Loach's Palme d'Or-winning drama.

Determined to leave Ireland to practice medicine in London, young doctor Damien O'Donovan (Cillian Murphy) finds himself under increasing pressure to stay in his homeland and fight with the IRA against British forces. After witnessing a series of indignities against his friends and countrymen, the tide within Damien turns and he finds himself fighting under the command of his brother.

Curator's Note

After two film projects collaborating with other filmmakers, Ken Loach returned with a solo-directorial project that would come to be one of the standout films in his oeuvre. The Wind That Shakes the Barley became almost universally acclaimed upon its release and received the coveted Palme d'Or prize upon its premiere at Cannes. The film also became Loach's biggest box office hit at the time.

Veering away from the social issues focus of many of his other films, The Wind That Shakes the Barley clicks in visually and thematically with his earlier acclaimed film Land and Freedom (1995). Both films deal with conflicts outside of Loach's native England, and both take the side of underdogs who through grassroots enlistment find themselves in extraordinary situations. Of Ken Loach, actor Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) once quipped: "It took an Englishman to come over to force me in the position to examine my own history."

– Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)