The Wind That Shakes the Barley

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)

  • 88% of critics liked it
    (112 reviews)

  • 85% of users liked it
    (34,887 ratings)

Two brothers are caught on differing sides of the battle for Irish freedom in this politically minded historical drama from veteran British filmmaker Ken Loach. It's 1920, and Damien O'Donovan (Cillian Murphy) has recently graduated from medical school. Damien plans to leave the small village in… More

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PG-13, 2 hr. 6 min.
Directed By
Ken Loach
Written By
Paul Laverty
Genres
Drama
In Theaters
Mar 16, 2007 Wide
On DVD
Sep 4, 2007
IFC First Take

Critic Reviews

  • Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

    Gripping, powerful, heart-breaking.

  • Kyle Smith, New York Post

    Raises hard questions about Ireland's uncanny ability to kneecap itself.

  • Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

    [Loach] has made an often handsome, always sobering movie that does what the best movies do: leave us a whole lot less sure about what we ought to think.

  • Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

    [Loach is] the master of the docu-drama or the realist social film, and Wind is one of his masterpieces.

  • Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

    As frequently happens in both Loach films and history, the betrayal of ideals, socialist and otherwise, leaves a harsh aftertaste, which made me feel sadder but not much wiser.

Read all 20 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

  • xGary X


    A pair of working class Irish brothers are caught up in the troubles during the social upheaval caused by the fight for independence in 1920. Set during the same period as Neil Jordan's Michael Collins, The Wind That Shakes The Barley is a far more personal representation of the… More

  • Reid V


    This film tackles head on the all-consuming power of an idea and the evolving nature of that idea in the face of reality. Like other films about the liberation movement in Northern Ireland such as Paul Greengrass' Bloody Sunday or Steve McQueen's Hunger, it is brutal,… More

  • Dan S


    A well-done, powerful story concerning the battle for Ireland amongst the IRA (led by Cillian Murphy) against the power-hungry British during the 1920's. Director Ken Loach picked out some really gorgeous backdrops to film this story, and this add to his overall epic scope… More

  • Anthony L


    Historical films are to be approached with caution these days but in Loach you can trust. This is an uncomfortable but balanced history lesson, never really showing anyone in a particularly great light but never shying away from the human condition, warts and all. It's very well… More

  • familiar s


    This one was a let down. I've seen many such stories of revolutionaries (replace Irish by Indians) fighting against British, and compared to them, this seemed quite pale (no offense intended). Having said that, I gotta admit that it wasn't a total failure. The vicious… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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