Starring Colin Farrell
Brendan Gleeson
Ralph Fiennes
Clémence Poésy
Directed by Martin McDonagh
Blueprint Pictures (Film4, Focus Features, etc), 2008
A dark comedy in all sense of the meaning, this R-rated film paints a beautiful portrait of the old and majestic city of Bruges/ Brugge (Broodj in French, BROOG-uh – in Dutch) while unwinding an intricate storyline with characters of all shapes and sizes. Some very funny moments (heightened by opposing dialects) are juxtaposed with moments of deep sorrow and regret and yet, the direction of the film leaves us in an ethereal state of thought and being.
Favorite part? Colin Farrell karate chops a little person (Jordan Prentice) in the neck.
Favorite line? Collin Farrell to Brendan Gleeson: "Ken, I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me but I didn't, so it doesn't."
Starring Audrey Tatou
Mathieu Kassovitz
Serge Merlin
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
France 3 Cinéma, Canel +, 2001
This is a whimsical charmer for all (or at least all who are at the mature age of watching a mini-sex scene). An adventure that will take you all over Paris, Amélie is a fast-paced story that introduces the viewers to all types of characters and personalities.
Note: Unless you understand French, put on the subtitles.
Starring Colman "Tiger" King
Maggie Dirrane
Michael Dillane
Directed by Robert J. Flaherty
Gainsborough Productions, 1934
(By the way, "Aran" is pronouced as AH-rehn, similar to but not as hard as the name Aaron. Not A-ran or A-ron)
I remember watching this movie comfortably on an oversized couch with cast mates as we prepared for a production of Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan. Inishmaan, along with Inishmoor and Inisheer, compose the Aran Islands which lie off the west coast of Ireland in the Galway Bay.
At first I thought this fictionalized documentary would depict the characters’ challenges of living in the harsh, pre-modern 1930’s Ireland, ehh…not exactly. Shots of the islands and rock appear more than the characters do (thus creating a bit of a dull film). Nevertheless, both the dialects and landscapes were intriguing.
Starring Donald Crisp
Laurence Naismith
Directed by Don Chaffey
Walt Disney Pictures, 1961
When visiting Edinburgh, if you get yourself to the corner of Edinburgh's Candlemaker Row and the George IV Bridge, you'll find the statue of a Skye Terrier named Bobby who has created a good amount of hype.
As one story goes, Bobby was so devoted to his master, John Gray, that when he died, he never left his gravesite in Greyfriars Kirkyard. When a law came to indicating that stray dogs be put to death, the Lord Provost paid for the license to be given and Bobby was put into the custody of the city council. When Bobby died, he was unable to be buried in the cemetary's consecrated ground, so instead was buried just inside the gate of the kirkyard.
The storyline in the movie doesn't follow this version of the legend, but it doesn't matter too much anyway. There is speculation that the whole story was a Victorian-era scam to get tourists to Edinburgh...those Victorian rats! Oh well, I still took a picture of the statue when I saw it!
Starring Albert Sharpe
Sean Connery
Janet Munro
Directed by Robert Stevenson
Walt Disney Pictures, 1959
For the most part, this is a typical light-hearted Disney film, filled with magic and romance; however, towards the end, there are some moments that are a bit unsettling (regarding the Cóiste Bodhar, death coach, and Dullahan, a Grim Reaper-type driver).
My mother looks just like Janet Munro when she was young.
Just after this film, Connery landed his gig as James Bond.
Starrinng John Wayne
Maureen O'Hara
Directed by John Ford
Republic Pictures, 1952
Irish-American boxer returns to the land of his forefathers to forget his past and start fresh in rolling hills of the Emerald Isle.
Shot in Ireland, many scenes were filmed in and around Cong, a small village in Co. Mayo, on the grounds of the Ashford Castle.
The castle is now a 5 star hotel, and Cong, a wealthy town...thank YOU Hollywood.
RSS Feed