Why The Banshees of Inisherin is the Best Movie of 2022 

This movie hits like a bread van.

I saw it last night. It's a masterpiece. A quietly moving, devastatingly depressing, beautiful masterpiece. Proof to Hollywood that all you need to make an excellent film is a good script, superb actors, excellent direction and then for taste some poignant music and somewhat spooky atmosphere and you have this shinning diamond of a film.

For me, a key insight of the movie was about "purity" and "downfall". Both Padraic and Dominic were "pure" in the sense that they were innocent (nice, dull). This reflected by their affinity for animals, which are also pure. But when each is confronted with rejection, they take very different paths. Padraic becomes dark and mean, but Dominic chooses to escape life rather than become dark. For whatever reason, this aspect of the movie hit me hard. There were so many scenes related to animals in the house - and this for me was always a reminder of the purity of animals.

as an irish person it is 100% a commentary on our social culture

Also the religious reference of the virgin Mary statue which divides the 2 roads between the Padraic and Colm is an allegory for the civil war. It's a split of the 2 sides of the conflict both based on the same religious figure.

Having just seen the movie, I have some observations. Taking place in 1923, the locations are starkly beautiful. The narrator of this video deftly covers some of the finer points of the film. ( The allusion to the Civil War mirrored by the characters.) The sparse but piercing script was delightfully poignant. When Pádraic came around the corner of his house, I thought he would see Colm lying there. It was heartbreaking to see it was Jenny. The scene with Dominic and Siobhán was quietly shattering. When he softly says, " Well, there goes that dream. " it's crippling. A movie with many facets, it lingers long after viewing.

A spectacular film! I guess what makes films win so many awards is the focus on themes and character emotions rather than plot. Was very impressed by it.

This is a savage movie, it can't leave you unmoved. It strips away a lot of bullshit and brings things down to their most raw honesty. Such is possible in an environment where there is little going on and therefore the distractions most of us get caught up in aren't as available. So you fall into being and feeling how it really is. And we see that in the character padraic as all his props are stripped away that distract him from himself. Colm chooses a very unkind way to withdraw himself from Padraic. But there is a difference too between kindness and niceness that I think the movie differentiates. In a sense Colm still shows padraic some deep kindnesses even when banishing him. Punching the policeman, giving Padraic a ride home, being deeply sorry about the little donkey. It's more than he doesn't want to be untrue to himself any longer. And as the commentator points out in this, sees padraic (unfairly) as the symbol for the time he has wasted. But in a sense, the deeper kindness in life can be to help people stand on their own two feet. Really experience where they are so they can evolve and not be dependent. But kindness also picks its timing and pace and Colm chooses a more brutal approach. There are so many densely packed themes through this movie. I've just touched on the surface. It is quite brilliant and the acting is exceptional. I'd like to watch this one again, even though I found it disturbing.

Even tho I live far away from Ireland, this movie hits so close to home. I'm from Brazil's northeast, Teresina, state of Piauí. For many reasons the existentialism of this story feels so much like living in Teresina. The feeling that so many things are happening outside and you're stuck in a place where so little happens. At the same time there's this soul crushing fear of leaving your loved ones behind, which made me sympathize so much with Padraic. Even the type of humour is so much closer to ours. This and so much more made me really love this movie. It's a punch in the guts.

Loved the ending "Will not be anywhere near the top of the box office charts, but it's the movie I'll remember"

The movie is all about powerless, how we all handle and process disappointment, tragedy and grief. Some people depart, some people give others the finger and some simply die. Some people are able to move on, others can't. Sometimes when it happens to a country (9/11), the country might lash out at another and go to war. Martin McDonagh's movie is brilliant with incredible performances.

After re-watching the movie, I see moments where Siobhan is beckoned to join Mrs McCormick, watching death come in its inevitability. Like she would join the ranks of silent banshees. Makes me think of a subplot where the boys get to mutilate their selves as wise women are restricted to observe. Gender view that might not really apply maybe. Siobhan is so sweet yet firm. I love how she doesn't mind Jenny as she opens her letter job letter near the fire.

Each character is deeply flawed Padrick is nice but he is very self centered he disrespects his friends wishes immediately after he makes the ultimatum, he only wants Dominick around because his friend dissed him. Colm was so dysfunctional he couldn’t find any middle ground

This movie has so many layers, it was really interesting to watch. It felt like a huge metaphor, specially because the focal point, the fingers, seem to show how the story isn't really placed in the normal world. Colm cuts off his fingers, but there is never any medical implications: he doesn't get infections, doesn't bleed to death, doesn't feel much pain, and walks around with the wounds bleeding and exposed (the dog even licks it!). All in all, it was clearly a metaphor (or several), that can be analyzed for hours. As a depressed fan of Shakespeare, though, certain things also reminded me of his plays. The way the story is structured, the setting, the presence of a "witch" that delivers dark omens. The witch character's presence was SO interesting. In the end, the movie gave me the impression she symbolized dark feelings, like depression, dread, feeling like an outsider. This was very apparent to me in the scene in the lake, when she calls Siobhan from across the lake, to visit, like they sometimes had visits (that Siobhan tried to avoid). But Siobhan refuses (how would she cross the lake, there was nothing but cliffs, rocks and endless dark water). Then Dominic confesses to her, and she sees his pain too. She gently lets him down. After that, she quickly makes the decision to leave this nowhere depressive island, and go live her life, her spirit full of hope. She had the chance to take the plunge in the lake, towards the dark omen which, but she chose hope, while recognizing the pain of others. Others pain (Colm cutting all of his fingers after) is the cold shower she needs to realize she can't live like that and indulge in the depressive feelings. she realizes Colm made the choice to cut off his own fingers and was the one responsible for prolonging and increasing his own misery. he could stop it, but he was determined to suffer and not change. Just like herself. She realized she was constantly choosing to stay where she was unhappy and wallowing in her own depression. She was the one welcoming the dark feelings (the witch) inside her home. If she wants change, she has to make the choice herself, and act on it. So she does, and goes to the mainland, out depressive island and isolation, and towards people and life, where things actually happen. She chose to insert herself into the world and take the rains of her own life. But Dominic, after being turned down at the lake, chooses to dive in, to drown in the darkness. It was a beautifully dark and twisted conclusion to the 2 storylines, filled with dichotomy. It's interesting because every character seems to be in emotional pain somehow, externalized but outside situations.

Loved this wonderful film. Gentle, cruel , thoughtful and very very memorable.

This movie just hit me everywhere.

A Quick Synopsis that is not mainstream. Colm loves Siobhan and turns on Padraig when he discovers she is leaving. Remember, the job offer letter was opened in the post office. Colm used Padraig to get in proximity to Siobhan and abandons their false friendship. He mutilates himself as a desperate act of self-pity to garner sympathy and attention from Siobhan. It does not work. Innisherin is Ireland, it translates as the Island of Ireland, which is pretty obvious. The mainland with the civil war coming to an end is the bigger world, which is more attractive than the ongoing hellish war in Ireland. The film is essentially also a prison film, and characters cannot escape. Siobhan looks back at Padraig and you see him on a cliff as if the island is a fortress and the old hag is the evil prison warden. Hints of Papillon. Siobhan is the future, Padraig is the present and Colm is the past. Colm digs up a past that is self-destructive, inward, indulgent, in the Gaelic revival music. His pretence to acquired universal culture is corrected by a cultured Siobhan regarding the date of Mozart’s music. The hero of the film is Siobhan who escapes the island, Padraig is the masses caught up in a situation not knowing the actual truth. Dominic is a character who suffers reality under the skin of the cruel veneer of Irish society, with a legacy of corruption and abuse in the church etc. He has the magnificent line " There goes that dream" and kills himself as his love is lost to him. He had more guts than Colm, he declared his love and accepted his fate. Padraig will never know the truth, he just senses there is something wrong but lacks the moral conviction to change his circumstances. He writes false letters full of lies. He fools himself and pretends that by burning Colm:s house that he has done something. All he has achieved is added to the destruction of hope and a better future. Colm and Padraig becomes flip sides of the same coin. A film masterpiece. One for the ages. Greetings from Ireland, we know this shit.

1923 was no picnic and neither is Colm. Padriac's grief I found compelling. His sister's decision I thought surprising. Beautiful film. It grew on me. Full of imagery and deeper than I'd first thought. In the end, I'd say it's a brilliant piece.

Bergman-esque, indeed. Exceptional, provocative, profound psychological journey and most memorable of movies. Thank you!

so cool that I’ve been to Achill Island where this was filmed. Colm’s house is a real building there at a very busy beach, and I also managed to stumble upon the lake where dominick came on to siobhán. Achill is completely full of sheep everywhere you go so they must have airbrushed a lot of sheep out in post to make this movie

First thing that came to my mind was Colm was in love with Padraic and as he was growing old ,Colm was too hesitant to express his feelings.May be that's the reason he want Padraic to stay away from home. may be a way to avoid the rejection and embarassment. Also Domnic was always talking about Padraic sister and even expressed his love. The moment used the word wild infront of her ,may be he was sexually attracted to her knowing the fact that he ask's Padraic once if he had seen his sister without clothes. Poor Padraic ,he was so innocent throughout the movie and sorry for the loss of his miniature donkey.

Began watching the movie because of this video. Have struggled to watch it (It's just a movie) but now, halfway though, I can watch no more. 'In Bruges' had me in stitches but this is IMHO devoid of humour. Reminds me of the difficulties I had reading 'Madam Bovary' by Flaubert. I could barely make it to the end because of the protagonist's appalling betrayal, which is what I cannot bear to watch here either.

I was looking forward to this movie as I like both of the lead actors and the idea of seeing the setting in a remote Irish village not unlike where my ancestors were born.The movie left me just feeling empty and on the depressed side.For me it was an exercise in the actors being stubborn and uncaring.I could not recommend this movie to anyone despite the good acting and location settings.Just too grim.

For all the allusion to the Irish Civil War, this was at heart a story of the need to be validated in this world, some by their immediate circle others by the world at large. It is also very much a window into the culture of that time and place, where men did not have the language to articulate their emotions. The result is shocking and heartbreaking. Colin's portrayal of bewilderment, hurt, anger is subime. Brendan is hard to love as the need to leave his legacy seems unnecessarily harsh, and Goughan shatters the heart with his proposal, on the surface nonchalant and breezy, and deeply affecting, because we know his backstory. I can't say enough about ALL the actors, and McDonagh's script and directipn. And Achill Island and the entire West coast of Ireland, a character all its own. ☘🇨🇮

8:38 "Unforgivable choices?" No such thing. Only a temporary inability to forgive. Forgive so as to respond accurately with the clarity of perception that's possible only through such forgiveness. What's the justification for this stance? We all do wrong when we don't know any better.

Really well analyzed. I found many of the comparisons from Bergman to Whiplash. I would als direct you to the first movie with the leads and director: The Bruges. Which is another existential film. Thank you!

Knew I recognized that voice, sounds like Burst/Jim. Loved the review. The clash between the mundane and meaning resonated with me.

Best breakdown that I have heard so far : ))

The Banshees of Inisherin, but there is no Conflict: Padraich: You comin' down for a pint with me, Colm? Colm: Padraich! I'm glad you're here. I want to tell ye' somethin. Padraich: Wut is it? Colm: Don't like it th'wrong way, like. But . . . I need more time fer' meself. Padraich: Time for yerself? Colm: It's nuttin' t'do with you, Padraich. It's just that I've been needin' time to pursue my passion in music. I want to make somethin' important. I'll still go to the pub with ye sometimes, but not as often. I need days just for me. I hope ye understand. Padraich: Well that's perfectly okay, Colm! Yer' my best friend. I want whats best for ye. Colm: That's good to hear, Padraich. I wasn't sure how you'd take it. Padraich: We ain't rowin', Colm. Good luck with your music. Play it for us sometime when ur in the pub, yeah? Colm: Lookin' forward to it.

This is a film i didn't quite understand the first time, but i went depressed for the rest of the day.

easily the best movie Ive seen in ages. I absolutely loved it. 9.5/10

On top of being a great movie with very vivid and beatiful delivery of ideas you mentioned, the acting is so astonishing, that I just can't remember anything on that level for a long time. Barry Keoghan was too good. No wonder all 4 of the main casts are nominated for Oscar. I didn't know actually that you can have two actors nominated for the same award for the same movie.

This film should walk away with everything that is Oscar! Martin McDonagh is one of the most brilliant storytellers of all time. He makes you embody every character, you wear their skin, if only for a moment. Some of it is icky and you are out right away, or so you think... I have seen all of his films including his short, "Six Shooter", which made me know why I loved "In Bruges". Somehow "The Guard" slipped by me in the movie theater, but eventually I saw it too. Every film since, I saw on the Big Screen. Maybe being Irish in England or the perspective of his parents, gave him a leg up on all these stories about being an outcast... being a woman, black, marginalized, racist/racism, lonely, small, mental, human.. All that being said, Padraic was Colm's gauge of love and the blame for "no opus, no fingers"! #TheBansheesOfInisherin #ColinFarrell #MaritnMcDonagh #BrendanGleeson #KerryCondon #BarryKeoghan

I've loved Martin McDonagh ever since seeing The Pillowman on Broadway (one of the best plays I've ever been to), and Banshees is exquisite -- although I'm not sure I'll rewatch it as eagerly as I have In Bruges or Three Billboards. In the end, the sadness that pervades Banshees was hard on my soul. I take a slightly different view on the central characters' relationship. In Colm's attempts to explain why he wants to break up with Pádraic, I think he's _not_ saying the thing that explains why he'll continue to meaninglessly socialize with others: Pádraic drains him of energy.

Dominic was quite similar to Siggy from Vikings.. desperate for love in different scenarios but drown at last for no reason like the Banshees foresee. #RandomThoughts

Can’t wait to see it!

I don’t know anyone that has watched this film liked it or thought it wasn’t boring and these are Irishmen

I frankly don't understand why most responses to Banshees take the position of Colm's drives and point of view as being the desirable ones, and Padraic's as the undesirable one. I personally dont feel any drive whatsoever to leave anything behind, like a "legacy" "to be remembered by", and I focus on being a good person here and now, and Padraic's little speech in the pub was something quite obvious. Colm's has been the unreasonable, hurtful position to me from the start (and then I interpreted it as the harm of depression and the feeling of existential pointlessness to everyone around). Team Padraic 100%

I had high expectations and it was pretty good but not quite what I thought. I didn't know the historical context so perhaps I needed to? I didn't enjoy Pádraic as a character and I can't quite figure out why. It wasn't the acting, that was brilliant. He just didn't feel real, more like a plot device. Clearly I missed a big something.

This movie has so many of the hallmarks of a Greek tragedy. There is a decent guy who has misery forced upon him through no fault of his own, another decent guy who goes mad for insufficient reason, a village idiot who speaks more wisdom than any other character, an old hag who gloats at human misery and foretells the future. Everyone in this show loses, even the donkey, making it quite a depressing experience overall. The ending would have been a little more satisfying if Colm had died.

Best movie of the year by a large stretch

Before this movie came along, I didn't know that little ponies could die by eating dismembered human fingers.

It’s a great movie, I just could not get on board with the conflict for exactly the points that you mentioned. Colm was spending time with the policeman abuser when he was not working on his composition. He really could have spent this time with Padraic and not have any impact on his music production. But no. This means there should have been another reason for why Colm wanted to breakup with Padraic. For this reason overall rating a solid 9.25 to soft 9.5.

In Ireland, another film has been recognized by The Irish Film and Television Academy as the best film of the year, over "The Banshees of Inisherin." And as far as audience reception goes, it has become the highest grossing film in the history of Irish cinema. The movie is called: The Quiet Girl 'An Cailín Ciúin.' Now, I very much enjoyed "The Banshees of Inisherin"; however, I can see why the IFTA has awarded "The Quiet Girl" best film; best director; best actress and best-of in several other categories. Both films are fantastic additions to Irish cinema.

Your pronunciation of their names is a hoot 😂

I thought in bruge was perfect this raises the bar .A perfect film

This movie was so damn funny, this synopsis makes it look so serious which it is of course in terms of it's themes and dark undertones but it is a comedic masterpiece also!

Do you think l need some medical help watch it every afternoon after work absolutely love it 😀 😄 😍 😊 ❤ 💕

Yeah film is a masterpiece. Simplistic premise executed with brilliance.

Guys, it's a dark comedy movie, isnt it? Bcus I laugh in so many scenes or conversations in this movie, of course besides other feelings (sad, thrilled, etc). I am not european or american...maybe we have a different sense of humor. That's what I wanna confirm to viewers here...is it a dark humor movie?

Great movie. Let's not forget the cinematography and the soundtrack by Carter Burwell.

I think anyone who's felt the "I'm going to become a great artist" thing Colm was going through, recognizes that it's another expression of depression. Perhaps unwittingly, Padrick is the only one who address that depression and keeps reaching out.

Wasn't into it but happy for the actors

Really good review of this film.

Streamed it. I think a good case could be made that artistry alone cannot save what is essentially a pointless conflict between two friends as a metaphor for a pointless Irish Civil war, for which enough films have been made. There is nothing that encourages repeat viewing. And the ending summed it all up, what was the point? The point is I will not re-watch it. Period.

Best film of the last 10 years. Easy.

yeah, it's not but i appreciate you saying so

RIP Dominic

Here is why Colm cut off his fingers: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RADx2N2hHoY.html

Genuinely great film but will be overlooked by Hollywood when oscar time comes around no doubt .

What a beauty.

Hmm I think the movie is much deeper than this. You didn’t even mention the old lady who represents one of the most important themes of the movie…

Ugh, I tried! Couldn't hang. I'll have to go back in

well yeahh, out of all of the overly praised films of 2022 that I saw, this is the one I can say I really reaally like

Wonderful, deep movie.

Best movie I’ve seen in decades

I think him cutting his own fingers off was a way to blame someone else for the failure he was scared of coming regardless of his own efforts and talent.

The friendship is basically the Partition of Ireland played out on a personal level. The date of 1st April was the date when the hard border was erected between Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland. Colm cutting off his fingers is illustrative of how family and friends were separated and how Ireland had to sacrifice 6 counties for peace. . Siobhán leaving for the mainland is reminiscent of people's exodus from Ireland. Pádraic holding the grudge even though Colm wants to say it's over is like The Friday Agreement keeping Ireland separate. There are more parallels in the film which fit

Why isn'y anybody talking about Jennie? She steals every single scene she's in!

According to what I've heard in my family, it was expected in this period for an Irish sister (especially the youngest sister) to remain unmarried to take care of any unmarried brothers. On her deathbed (in the 1950s) my Irish grandmother gave my Irish American mother permission not to follow this custom. The video implies that Siobhan took care of her brother out of love, but it was also obligation that she had to overcome to liberate herself.

I don’t have a particular line or scene to cite (the entire script was quotable), but I did want to point out that Colin Farrell’s little face expressions throughout the film are brilliant. What an amazing actor. He says so much with his face, without using words, and I REALLY noticed it in this film. Also, I thought you might mention that this is the first time (I believe) that C. Farrell and B. Keoghan have shared the screen since Killing Of A Sacred Deer. I thought the chemistry between the two of them was incredible in that film as well. I’m hoping we see them paired up again down the road.

On the same day I watched this film, my boyfriend said he didn't love me anymore. He simply continued being happy, but I wasn't part of his happiness anymore. "But you loved me yesterday ?" The incomprehension, denial, distress, anger, despair, resignation. You start questioning who you are. All the emotions I went through were so beautifully depicted in the film, with great accuracy. It truly blew me away.

I thought the first scene in the confessional booth was hilarious. The rejection of Dominic at the end was truly heart breaking.

It's so sad it won't be given it's proper recognition, I just finished it and I feel like I've been hit by an existential train and I absolutely love it

This is one of the most powerful, beautiful, gut-wrenchingly sad movies I have ever seen. It was so painful I almost couldn't finish it, but I came back to it the next day after I had calmed down. I can't stop thinking about it. My heart bled for everyone's pain and inability to do any healing of these relationships on any level.

I watched "In Bruge" for the first time the other day and was blown away how good it was the same night I kept the train rolling and immediately watched this movie afterwards and it was such a joyfull night of cinema that I have not experienced in too long.

An absolute gem of a movie. The cinematography is breathtaking, the cast and acting is simply brilliant, the Westcoast of Ireland feels like an extra character but the story is so, so sad and left me heavily depressed..

Your take away about Padraic being right about not forgiving Colm is strange to me. I don’t believe Martin is endorsing any action committed by any character except for Siobhan. I believe Martin is simply depicting the Irish conflict through the metaphor of friendships. I also think the policeman representing the law and abusing his child holds a significant amount of weight in this metaphor too.

I couldn’t understand why people dislike this film. I thought it was marvellous and beautiful.

As a big McDonah fan I really enjoyed this movie. I think it about loneliness and feeling betrayed on the one hand and disappointment of life on the other hand. It’s what you feel when you watch it, but also the film is about humanity, the Farrell’s character got believed in violence when his friend became ex-friend. There is no hope for him, but the end is optimistic

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this film ever since I saw it. I have watched and re-watched the reviews on RU-vid and, like you, I can’t wait to see it again. Everything about the film is superb - the story, the setting, the superlative portrayals. It was certainly the best and most moving film I saw in 2022 and it deserves all the award nominations that have already been made.

Great commentary. I just finished the film itself earlier today. Fantastic cinematography, it makes me wish to live there. Great characters, performances, story. Bravo!

My daughter and me absolutely loved this movie. We laughed, we cried. Definitely related to things. Ireland of course was as beautiful and wild as always ❤

Absolutely brilliant ! Colin Farrel,Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan and Brendan Gleeson give top performance of their careers. Can you split the Oscar 4ways?

As an Irish person it's hard not to get emotional seeing this movie get worldwide recognition and appraisal. Yes it is very much a tongue-in-cheek representation of the country that very much leans into stereotype, but it's a good kind of stereotype in that it reveals honesty rather than obscures it. Representation of Irish culture through cinema will now have a distinct frame of reference, before Banshees and after Banshees. I find it difficult to articulate just how lovely it is for others to see how we are, even if it's an exaggeration. It feels like you've let someone into your home, in a way. One can only hope we've been a good host.

I think it's a sign of good art when the audience and critics all have different interpretations and feelings about it. I love things that make me think and this movie certainly does. I watched it twice and thought the acting and cinematography were superb.

This is one of the best movies I have seen in a very long time! I watched it, then had to go back and watch "Billboards.." It was beautiful and so very sad!

In Bruges is one of my favorite films. This was nothing like Bruges but I really enjoyed it. The beauty of the nature was breathtaking. Shobian's character the one I was the most interested in the back story.

Here is why Colm really cut his fingers off: So, from what we can gather, Colm is already in despair before the story begins, as the final conversation between him and the priest reveals. Most likely he is dying, hence his preoccupation with legacy. But besides music there are others things he seem interested in, as we see by the objects in his house - puppets (manipulation, narrative, characters) and theater masks (acting, deceiving, shadow self). Using this information, we can picture two scenarios, one where Colm was acting to be a nice person but in reality was using Pádraic as a puppet friend all along just to to entertain himself. The idea of a coming death created an urgency in him to leave a musical legacy, followed by the decisions to end his distraction play time with Pádraic and to let go the mask of niceness. So what unfolds is the loss of his reputation and the unveiling of his true selfish and manipulative nature. On a deeper and noble second scenario, his legacy would be to leave behind a free and mature human being. In this case the real manipulation of Pádraic by the puppet master Colm started after he knew he was going to die. And the selfishness and craziness performed was just the acting needed to complete his final play. Here, Colm sacrifices himself in order to provide the means (freedom) for his friend to reach his potential. (This sounds like too much of a philosophical stretch, but the director Martin McDonagh already have done this in his film ‘In Bruges’, with the same pair of actors.) In the first scenario Colm wants to get some peace before dying to create his musical legacy and to get that needs to set his puppet friend Pádraic go - note that the strings of the puppeteer makes him also tied to his puppet - he is also not free. So, he need to end this co-dependent dynamic fast, and at all costs, even by cutting his own fingers off (giving away his manipulative power as a puppeteer) - a painful action which Colm does without demonstrating it, showing how conscious (and desperate) he is of his intentions regarding setting himself free and in the process, Pádraic too. Pádraic is just a toy in the hands of a puppeteer and is not in control of his own narrative, at least during the beginning. He also does not know who he really is. By setting Pádraic free of the controlling strings, Colm gives Pádraic his agency back, and as a consequence, allows him to discover other facets of his ‘self’ that would reveal the shadows behind the mask of being nice (note the scene when he puts a mask while visiting Colm’s house and later when he brakes his image on the mirror - the new him). Colm even says that he likes Pádraic better now that he is behaving more freely. But Pádraic, like a son who doesn’t understands why his father is abruptly cutting ties with him, feels abandoned and angry (growing up, loss of innocence), and still tries to set things back to the old dynamics when his puppeteer had all the power and his life as a puppet was simpler (the scene where Pádraic says that Colm can use whatever powers he has to stop him form burning his house). But when the donkey dies, things get out of plan, and Pádraic burns Colm’s house - a demonstration that now he also has the power to affect the fate of others, even to decide who lives or dies. There is a real banshee in the story, the old lady that announces the coming of death, she is the one that uses the stick-hook. In old time stage plays the stick-hook was used to get characters out of the stage when their time was up, and it is the same within this story. But here there is another Puppet Master controlling the lives of all characters: GOD. HE is the one really deciding who lives and dies - even the most innocent ones, like the donkey and Dominic (note that Dominic is the one who find the Banshee's hook and asks about its purpose). They (we) are all HIS characters and the island (Earth) is GOD's stage. Siobhán, the sister, is the one character that can see from a certain distance the ongoing repetitive drama of the play and decides to leave (she was not really participating in it). Different from Colm who now sees Pádraic as a problem and takes a dramatic selfish decision to abandon him (I don’t need you anymore, go away), she also cut ‘ties’ with his brother but in a way that would be good for both to grow up - leaving because there is a higher purpose (I have to go, but still love you). Note the scene in which she is leaving the village in the boat, she is hanging on a rope, her own string that connects her to the sky, wind and sea (Nature is God’s hands) - she is still a puppet in the hands of God’s will, but her character is now needed in a different play. At the end of this scenario, Colm is just a man, selfish but not an unemphatic sociopath, as he still shows care for Pádraic. Siobhan, is caring but is not a saint, just a down to earth smart woman who just wants better things for her. Colm was using Pádraic as an entertainment (we all use other people to diverge from our own misery) but his planned decision to cut ties created an unplanned opportunity to Pádraic to growth individually. And Pádraic was up to the challenge and responded accordingly, as he was dull but sharp, sensitive but strong. Dominic is the curious naive but annoying child that no one has time to pay attention. The donkey is nature, the innocent collateral in any man's conflict. And the banshee, a reminder that we are all just characters in God's cosmic play. ..... Sacrificial love. If in the first scenario Pádraic grows into a more mature man due to the unplanned consequences of selfish decisions made by Colm, in this second one he goes to the same process of individual growth but this time by consequence of a meticulous masterplan idealized by his friend. Knowing he is about to die Colm wants to "teach" Pádraic a last 'lesson'. Something that would break the dynamics that are set and possibly push Pádraic to grow up and stand for himself. As he knows that Pádraic has this inner potential. Maybe like a father would do to its son if he knows he was about to die and wanted to 'prepare' him for the 'real' world beforehand. Remember the things that Colm likes: music, puppeteering and acting. And he has lots of time to create his final play. Note that they live in an island, away from the war, protected from conflicts. But conflicts are what make us grow. Within fixed and stable dynamics there are no room for change, and Colm knows that. And so, being a puppet master, a composer, and an actor he initiates a well elaborated conflict with Pádraic which would then create the needed situations that would pushes him to face his shadow sides such as dependence, fear, angriness, jealously, hate, loneliness and others. Colm would become a selfish, rude and egotistical man only preoccupied by his creative musical legacy. Or at least would act as such. The hardline boundaries and the finger cutting treats made by Colm puts Pádraic in a new challenging position of choices, with new real bloodily cause-consequences dynamics (like in a real war). Colm would rather cut his fingers off (sacrifice his creative power) just to liberate his friend by a means of a lesson of hard consequences as Pádraic's growth (responsibility) and his realization of free will (choice, judgement) was more important than any other thing that he could have use for his hand. Also note that Colm didn’t let himself die in the burning house (he as well could have, as he knew he was about to die anyways), but he didn’t want his death on Pádraic consciousness - that would make him a somber man, and that was not his intention. His real legacy would be a stronger, more independent and more mature Pádraic. At the end, loneliness, lost and sadness become part of Pádraic's life. But he still has a good heart - he would still takes care of the dog of his enemy, anytime. And, as Pádraic himself wisely concludes, at the final scene at the beach: - “Some things there are no moving on from”…”and I think that’s a good thing.” "So, maybe this is a metaphor about God and mankind - a puppet master whom, for the love for his creation, was willing to cut his connection (sacrifice his existence) in order to give free will to his puppets even though they might use it to hate him in the end - the fall from the paradise tale." If you like to go even deeper, there is also a christian-catholic mythological theme in this Irish story. Just like Pacraic, Adam and Eve (man) got expelled from paradise (protected place) for eating the forbidden fruit of knowledge. God (the master puppeteer) set an explicit boundary but man crossed and lost his place in heaven - the loss of innocence of man. Now they will have to growth by means of their own choices and consequences. God sacrifices himself in order to give free will to his loved creation. Man gains knowledge (but at the cost of his divine connection) and the power to influence his own life and the life of others (nature is also affected). Thank you for reading. Made a post out of this comment, here is the more polished version with a few more paragraphs and images: shorturl.at/gxCZ8 Also made a video about this comment: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RADx2N2hHoY.html ...

"Do you think God gives a damn about miniature donkeys?" Colin's eyebrows should win an award. He's able to look like a completely different person using them

I went to see it earlier this week with three friends. I didn’t know anything about it beforehand. To my astonishment, none of my friends cared for it much. They seemed to realize it was a serious, brilliant film, but couldn’t seem to understand why. They mostly saw the contradictions in the story, as if that were a flaw, and the bizarre behavior of the characters, but resisted asking why. One of them even mentioned things like, “I’ve never been attracted to Ireland.” Wtf? I was almost speechless about this, since I thought it was the best, most moving film I’d seen in a long time. I admit, however, the whole thing about the fingers made me squirm. It struck me as a bit much, but I could see what it meant alright. This review is very good-I wish I could have expressed my thoughts about the film to my friends as well as is done here.

The innate human need for conflict........to stand for something......to feel real.....Colm wants to feel real...alive......by any means necessary...

Genuine masterpiece of a film. A masterclass in acting with all the characters but, I must say that Kerry Condon (Siobhan Sullheiban) (sp?) is getting herself an Oscar. If she doesn’t we should all cut off our fingers.

This movie evoked the leftover trauma of the famine. The insanity of pain and inflection of pain on one’s self …… The Whole of Ireland went insane after the famine….. I was born in 1957 ……. Growing up was insane

I viewed this movie as the difference between a quietly strong woman who has good critical thinking skills and a level of emotional intelligence - and four men who don't. She isn't cruel, stupid, vindictive or lazy - but quietly supportive and just - and that's how she wins via the job offer that removes her from her bleak life on the island with these men. And doing that in the 1920s was a bold measure - particularly with a war going on. When it comes to the colors that she wears, red is the color of fire - she manages to stay alive on the island by persevering as fire keeps us all warm and alive in cold/bleak times - and yellow is the color of happiness and hope (like the Sun) - which she wears as she is leaving. The fiddler is an angry, thwarted man who is his own worst enemy - hence, chopping off his fingers (which he needs to fiddle - which is how he desperately wants to make his legacy). The abusive policeman is punished by the death of his son. That son, the town idiot, never had hope and gives terrible advice - which the Colin Farrell character stupidly follows. This idiot is on his way to commit suicide when he makes a courageous effort - which is more than the other men in the film could fathom - by declaring his love to the protagonist's sister. It is a painfully relatable last hurrah, and when she of course rejects him, he goes on with his original plan - which is not surprising. And then we have the protagonist, who is so selfish and emotionally obtuse that he can't respect the request (no matter how heartbreaking) which is why he shall always be alone and lonely despite his handsomeness. His saving grace is his kindness to animals. So, my final thoughts - strong women escape and weak men suffer due to their own vast lack of understanding. This movie is very pro-female.

I recently went to the Cinema to watch this film and brought two friends with me. I thought this film was fantastic but my friends didn't really like it, I know that it probably comes up to taste but I am still disappointed that they didn't appreciate this phenomenal work of art.

Here is my take on why Colm really cut his fingers off: So, from what we can gather, Colm is already in despair before the story begins, as the final conversation between him and the priest reveals. Maybe he is dying or at least he has been contemplating death a lot, hence his preoccupation with legacy (his music is even about the banshees, the announcer of death). But besides music there are others things he seem interested in, as we see by the objects in his house - puppets (manipulation, narrative, characters) and theater masks (acting, deceiving, shadow self). Using this information, we can picture two scenarios, one where Colm was acting to be a nice person but in reality was using Pádraic as a puppet friend all along just to to entertain himself. The idea of a coming death created an urgency in him to leave a musical legacy, followed by the decisions to end his distraction play time with Pádraic and to let go the mask of niceness. So what unfolds is the loss of his reputation and the unveiling of his true selfish and manipulative nature. On a deeper and noble second scenario, his legacy would be to leave behind a free and mature human being. In this case the real manipulation of Pádraic by the puppet master Colm started after he knew he was going to die. And the selfishness and craziness performed was just the acting needed to complete his final play. Here, Colm sacrifices himself in order to provide the means (freedom) for his friend to reach his potential. (This sounds like too much of a philosophical stretch, but the director Martin McDonagh already have done this in his film ‘In Bruges’, with the same pair of actors.) In the first scenario Colm wants to get some peace before dying to create his musical legacy and to get that needs to set his puppet friend Pádraic go - note that the strings of the puppeteer makes him also tied to his puppet - he is also not free. So, he need to end this co-dependent dynamic fast, and at all costs, even by cutting his own fingers off (giving away his manipulative power as a puppeteer) - a painful action which Colm does without demonstrating it, showing how conscious (and desperate) he is of his intentions regarding setting himself free and in the process, Pádraic too. Pádraic is just a toy in the hands of a puppeteer and is not in control of his own narrative, at least during the beginning. He also does not know who he really is. By setting Pádraic free of the controlling strings, Colm gives Pádraic his agency back, and as a consequence, allows him to discover other facets of his ‘self’ that would reveal the shadows behind the mask of being nice (note the scene when he puts a mask while visiting Colm’s house and later when he brakes his image on the mirror - the new him). Colm even says that he likes Pádraic better now that he is behaving more freely. But Pádraic, like a son who doesn’t understands why his father is abruptly cutting ties with him, feels abandoned and angry (growing up, loss of innocence), and still tries to set things back to the old dynamics when his puppeteer had all the power and his life as a puppet was simpler (the scene where Pádraic says that Colm can use whatever powers he has to stop him form burning his house). But when the donkey dies, things get out of plan, and Pádraic burns Colm’s house - a demonstration that now he also has the power to affect the fate of others, even to decide who lives or dies. There is a real banshee in the story, the old lady that announces the coming of death, she is the one that uses the stick-hook. In old time stage plays the stick-hook was used to get characters out of the stage when their time was up, and it is the same within this story. But here there is another Puppet Master controlling the lives of all characters: GOD. HE is the one really deciding who lives and dies - even the most innocent ones, like the donkey and Dominic (note that Dominic is the one who find the Banshee's hook and asks about its purpose). They (we) are all HIS characters and the island (Earth) is GOD's stage. Siobhán, the sister, is the one character that can see from a certain distance the ongoing repetitive drama of the play and decides to leave (she was not really participating in it). Different from Colm who now sees Pádraic as a problem and takes a dramatic selfish decision to abandon him (I don’t need you anymore, go away), she also cut ‘ties’ with his brother but in a way that would be good for both to grow up - leaving because there is a higher purpose (I have to go, but still love you). Note the scene in which she is leaving the village in the boat, she is hanging on a rope, her own string that connects her to the sky, wind and sea (Nature is God’s hands) - she is still a puppet in the hands of God’s will, but her character is now needed in a different play. At the end of this scenario, Colm is just a man, selfish but not an unemphatic sociopath, as he still shows care for Pádraic. Siobhan, is caring but is not a saint, just a down to earth smart woman who just wants better things for her. Colm was using Pádraic as an entertainment (we all use other people to diverge from our own misery) but his planned decision to cut ties created an unplanned opportunity to Pádraic to growth individually. And Pádraic was up to the challenge and responded accordingly, as he was dull but sharp, sensitive but strong. Dominic is the curious naive but annoying child that no one has time to pay attention. The donkey is nature, the innocent collateral in any man's conflict. And the banshee, a reminder that we are all just characters in God's cosmic play. ..... Sacrificial love. If in the first scenario Pádraic grows into a more mature man due to the unplanned consequences of selfish decisions made by Colm, in this second one he goes to the same process of individual growth but this time by consequence of a meticulous masterplan idealized by his friend. Knowing he is about to die Colm wants to "teach" Pádraic a last 'lesson'. Something that would break the dynamics that are set and possibly push Pádraic to grow up and stand for himself. As he knows that Pádraic has this inner potential. Maybe like a father would do to its son if he knows he was about to die and wanted to 'prepare' him for the 'real' world beforehand. Remember the things that Colm likes: music, puppeteering and acting. And he has lots of time to create his final play. Note that they live in an island, away from the war, protected from conflicts. But conflicts are what make us grow. Within fixed and stable dynamics there are no room for change, and Colm knows that. And so, being a puppet master, a composer, and an actor he initiates a well elaborated conflict with Pádraic which would then create the needed situations that would pushes him to face his shadow sides such as dependence, fear, angriness, jealously, hate, loneliness and others. Colm would become a selfish, rude and egotistical man only preoccupied by his creative musical legacy. Or at least would act as such. The hardline boundaries and the finger cutting threats made by Colm puts Pádraic in a new challenging position of choices, with new real bloodily cause-consequences dynamics (like in a real war). Colm would rather cut his fingers off (sacrifice his creative power) just to liberate his friend by a means of a lesson of hard consequences as Pádraic's growth (responsibility) and his realization of free will (choice, judgement) was more important than any other thing that he could have use for his hand. Also note that Colm didn’t let himself die in the burning house (he as well could have, as he knew he was about to die anyways), but he didn’t want his death on Pádraic consciousness - that would make him a somber man, and that was not his intention. His real legacy would be a stronger, more independent and more mature Pádraic. At the end, loneliness, lost and sadness become part of Pádraic's life. But he still has a good heart - he would still takes care of the dog of his enemy, anytime. And, as Pádraic himself wisely concludes, at the final scene at the beach: - “Some things there are no moving on from”…”and I think that’s a good thing.” "So, maybe this is a metaphor about God and mankind - a puppet master whom, for the love for his creation, was willing to cut his connection (sacrifice his existence) in order to give free will to his puppets even though they might use it to hate him in the end - the fall from the paradise tale." If you like to go even deeper, there is also a christian-catholic mythological theme in this Irish story. Just like Pacraic, Adam and Eve (man) got expelled from paradise (protected place) for eating the forbidden fruit of knowledge. God (the master puppeteer) set an explicit boundary but man crossed and lost his place in heaven - the loss of innocence of man. Now they will have to growth by means of their own choices and consequences. God sacrifices himself in order to give free will to his loved creation. Man gains knowledge (but at the cost of his divine connection) and the power to influence his own life and the life of others (nature is also affected). Thank you for reading. Also made a video about this comment: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RADx2N2hHoY.html

It’s beyond sad it’s so depressing. The isolation of these people is heartbreaking.

I love this movie so much. I have watched it multiple times and love it more each time. The acting is phenomenal, the scenery is gorgeous, and the plot is so engaging. Total antithesis of the typical formulaic stuff churned out by Hollywood.

Great Video! Also be careful of bread vans everyone.