Reviews

Legendary Movie of our Time, rich with Celtic Mythology. I saw this movie when I was young and it changed the way I felt about our Irish mythology. I guess you could say it brought it to life for me and this is how we keep our Irish myths and legends alive.

The Selkie mythology aspect is very interesting as the Selkies are like the seals in a way, in water and on land, and one wonders, I forget where I read this, that maybe the Selkies were actual fisherwomen who coated their skin with dark seal oil to keep body heat in, sort of like a modern day wetsuit. But at any rate the view of the child towards the mythology is wonderful.

Locations were stunningly beautiful and the connection of the family and child is one we need to see in our modern movies.

Just a wonderful movie all around.

Brilliant Acting and an original story. As a native Irish speaker, the few lines that were in Irish were fine. We have regional variations in Irish, there is no correct way. Actors did a great job with their Irish lines.

As other reviews have noted, this is not a huge expensive movie with a cast of hundreds and large sets, so don't expect that. The focus is on the acting and the story.

My wife and I, we're both pagans, enjoyed the alternative take on these Celtic gods brought to life on the screen. We hadn't seen such an original story theme before and we were thrilled by it. It definitely has its own place in our many history dramas out now, though having the Celtic gods actually speak, is going to upset the conformists.

If you aren't looking for a megahit big budget historical movie, but something more alternative, then this is an outstanding movie series.

This movie is vital in understanding and recognizing who we Irish are. Northern Irish, Republican Irish, we need to see the humanity that is between us and put aside the sectarian artificial structures.

I applaud the director for making this very much needed movie. And I love the black and white by the way. Rich contrast and most excellently filmed. Great cinematography and a gutsy decision to go in black and white. In a way the black and white presents a structure to us, such as the divisions of the troubles, and so we see it from a rigid framework, but what we see is Humanity instead. Quite an interesting way to get the message across.

A great movie. Famine movies should not be glamorous, they should be dark, sad, slow, to catch the feeling of what it was like. This is why I support small independent movies, they can show us the truth where huge blockbusters cannot.

This movies brings to the public a very important story that is often overlooked in our consumerist, convenience, shiny, society. That the struggle of the Irish people was real and painful. These kinds of subject matter stories are hard to watch. Nobody wants to watch a movie about famine and genocide, and its suffering, after a hard days work. But if you're up to it, watch this movie, it will broaden the depth of your humanity.

Thank you for making this small independent film. Well worth the watch and telling people about.

Beautiful, evocative, brings me to tears, Always will. Brings us closer to who we are as human beings. Sure it's not a huge blockbuster, but that allows more time with the actors up close and they convey such intensity and honesty of emotion. Movies, regardless of their size and budget, can bring truth, beauty and justice to this world. I like the smaller films like this because they are more genuine.

The cinematography was breathtaking, truly original and caught the actors performances up close, as a small production can do. We need more movies like this. We need to stand up for small productions, for the underdogs of our wonderful movie world.

Interesting film from Joe Wright. Excellent casting. Profound performances. The terrible tragedy of life and war that people are caught up in. Immediately accessible with the fluid and natural performances from the cast all around. Truly one of the great films and sad it didn't get wider distribution. People always expect a huge $200 million budget movie. But its these smaller ones that have the most emotional performance that make our life fulfilled. The movie makes us feel compassion and humanity. The great innocence of youth and the profound depth of being an adult and having to carry the burden of others.