The Wind that shakes the barley

The film began with a clear enemy to the Irish people, the British Black and Tans. The violent scene that ends with a life of an Irishman by the hands of the Black and Tans for speaking Gaelic is discomforting. The film sets you up to join the Irish side alongside the story. The battle against the Black and Tans seems justified because of their extreme repression especially against the Irish using their native Gaelic. As a viewer I felt engrossed with the story when Damien decides to join Teddy in the guerrilla warfare. This idealist struggle comes to an end with the signing of the treaty that creates a new dilemma. This clearly brings to light the difficulty of fighting for something better if all members of one group do not and perhaps cannot, agree on the same terms. The film ends with the painful scene of brother executing another brother, Teddy executing Damien. It is difficult to believe that the ideals that they were struggling for were worth the death of another family member. The acts of violence through war, or other wise, seem even more horrendous.