What I Watched -- The Wind That Shakes the Barley

It would be a lie to say this movie didn't take a little while to get into. The first half is about a band of Irish Republicans trying to fight off English rule using guerrilla tactics in the years following WWI. (Don't worry, I didn't just ruin it.) This seems to be an oft-overlooked historical subject, but I'm not sure as much of it was necessary to lay the groundwork for the second half. All you need to know is that Damien O'Donovan, the younger of the O'Donovan boys, gives up his promising future as a doctor in London to join the guerrillas, who are led by his elder brother Teddy.

And the second half, let me say, is heartbreaking. Things don't go as well for the brothers O'Donovan during the fighting and negotiations with the Brits - who have no redeeming qualities whatsoever in this film - as one might hope.

The movie does offer some interesting, and relevant, lessons concerning that happens to the people left behind when an occupying force withdraws. Maybe someone whose pay grade is above mine should watch this.

Bottom line: slow to build, but worth the investment, especially since it leaves you with things to ponder. Cillian Murphy steals the show as Damien. (You might know him as the love interest in Girl with the Pearl Earring, or as the badly behaving doctor at the asylum in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.)