Twelve Great Irish Films for Saint Patrick's Day
It’s Saint Patrick’s Day, and that means drunken festivities for many. Well, this year may be a little different, with the whole widespread shutdown due to COVID-19 and all. So, this could be your chance to celebrate the day in a way that I would (as a boring, teetotaling tumbleweed of a human being): with the love of cinema. So, there were ten films here, until there were a couple of works I forgot and needed to include; you’re now left with a whopping twelve options. These are works made by Irish filmmakers, or are simply Irish productions. In case you need it or want it, here are twelve great Irish films to celebrate Ireland on Saint Patrick’s Day today.
Regeneration (1915)
Possibly one of the first feature length gangster films ever, Regeneration is a young boy’s life corrupted by society. He turns to crime to survive, although he is in need of being cured as he is older and jaded. Considering the early influence on the gangster and crime genres, Regeneration is an important Irish film in the silent era.
Man of Aran (1934)
In a time when documentaries were being forged out of stretched truths to get specific points across (while passing these moments off as real), Robert J. Flaherty’s Man of Aran just combined both fiction and nonfiction together to tell a fuller story. Most of this film is the tale of humanity versus the elements, as the different sequences each feel like quests to experience the complexities of nature and the animal kingdom.
The Quiet Man (1952)
A John Ford film had to be here. So, I went with the film that felt the most like an homage to his Irish heritage with The Quiet Man: the tale of an American boxer well past his prime embracing his motherland. Detailed by Ford’s ability to churn images into poetry, The Quiet Man is rather simplistic in story, but nurtured in how that tale is told.
The Rocky Road to Dublin (1968)
Cleverly named after the Irish melody, the documentary The Rocky Road to Dublin sneers at how the country is run only because of director Peter Lennon’s love for his homeland. This visual essay details the suffocation Ireland is experiencing due to censorship and control in the name of church being unseparated from state; all of this in the face of freedom. At a brisk sixty eight minutes, this think piece is easy to squeeze into an afternoon.
Ryan’s Daughter (1970)
Okay. I know David Lean has much better films than this, but I kind of view it as his Heaven’s Gate: a then-maligned film that is worthy of a little bit of critical reevaluation in 2020. It’s far too stunning to dismiss (although the over three hour length in this particular Lean epic isn’t as justified as his previous works). If you have a long time to spare and are curious, I think Ryan’s Daughter is worth a shot.
The Dead (1987)
John Huston’s swan song adaptation of James Joyce’s short narrative in The Dubliners is a fitting entry here, because of The Dead’s ability to extract one’s Irish culture within the philosophical questions surrounding life and death. It’s not easy to adapt Joyce’s writing, but the Huston family (father John, writer son Tony, and actress daughter Anjelica) do one hell of a job (Tony was nominated for an Academy Award, while John and Anjelica won Independent Spirit Awards).
My Left Foot/In the Name of the Father (1989, 1993)
Well, I had to include at least one of Jim Sheridan’s finer works, but writing off either of these two films was completely sacrilegious. After all, both works highlight important figures in Irish history (both played by Daniel Day-Lewis). My Left Foot brings author and artist Christy Brown’s story — and battle with cerebral palsy — to life (with Day-Lewis’ performance arguably being one of the best of all time). In the Name of the Father details the wrongful conviction of Gerry Conlon in relation to the Guildford pub bombings in 1974. If you haven’t seen either film, you must do so right now, in any order.
Once (2007)
John Carney’s breakthrough feature film about a Dubliner busker quickly took the world by storm in 2007. Maybe it’s the light nature of the film, or the magical music that strings “Guy’s” current day living all together. If you like Once and are wanting to have a round two to feel even better, Carney’s Sing Street is also a touching watch.
Hunger (2008)
Steve McQueen’s debut established him as a challenging filmmaker from the get go. Detailing the 1981 Irish hunger strike (started in Maze Prison), you have a cast and crew that are completely devoted to telling this story, including an early, powerful performance by Michael Fassbender. If you want an early notification as to how McQueen and Fassbender took off (especially when working together), here is the easiest sign.
The Secret of Kells (2009)
The start of Cartoon Saloon’s brilliant additions to the world of animation is The Secret of Kells (followed by Song of the Sea and The Breadwinner: also both worth watching). Kells is the departure from a depressing reality through bright, innocent magic in the eyes of a child. Eleven years later, and the gorgeous animation still astounds me.
Brooklyn (2015)
We end off on Brooklyn: a tale of a woman torn between her old life and her new life. Ireland is shot so gloomily at first, until Eilis (Saoirse Ronan in her umpteenth brilliant performance) leaves for New York. Once she comes back, Ireland has never looked better. This is the difficulty of leaving and then returning home: your place in the world becomes a blur. Dramatic yet light and charming, Brooklyn is always easy to watch and fall in love with.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.