The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, Ken Loach's drama about the emergent Irish Republican Army battling British "Black and Tan" soldiers for Irish freedom in 1920 is exactly what you'd expect from the aging cinema activist: a deeply compassionate, incisively intelligent drama of ordinary people torn by their circumstance. Cillian Murphy stars as a young doctor who joins the guerrilla IRA after experiencing the brutality of the occupying British army. It's beautifully shot in earthy but cool colors and performed with an easy yet passionate naturalism. True to form, Loach pauses the action for lively political and social debates among the characters. His heart is with Murphy's dream of social welfare and his head nods toward the compromise counseled by Murphy's brother-in-arms (Padraic Delaney), but by the end he simply mourns a cause lost in a never-ending civil war that sets brother against brother. The disc features commentary by director Loach and historical advisor Donal O'Driscoll, but you'll learn far more about the way Loach makes movies in the terrific documentary "Carry on Ken." The 49-minute overview describes a pretty interesting set, with lots of humor on both sides of the camera and the unconventional methods Loach uses to get natural and spontaneous performances from his cast.