Galway 2008: JANEY MARY

Finally, I get round to finishing off my round-up of the films I saw at Galway this year, and only about a month and a half late. Hey, it could be worse, I've still not round to writing my "best films of 2007" posts yet.

You'll recall, if you read the post about the Irish short films I saw in Galway, that I said JANEY MARY was going to get a post all of its own. Why, you ask? Is it truly amazing? Is it monumentally rubbish? Is it merely the springboard for me to write another rant about the state of the short film? (And if you didn't see the previous rant, inspired by Colm Quinn's NO REGRETS IN THE WEST, click here to read it)

I'll cut to the chase. JANEY MARY is bloody brilliant.

The outline of the plot (adapted from the James Plunkett story by the director Paul Brady) is a simple one. Dublin, the 1940s. Janey Mary is a child, like so many others, from a poverty-stricken home reduced to begging on the streets for money or food. The film tells her story as she interacts with some of the other souls, more or less fortunate than her, who inhabit the streets of Dublin.

Right, here's the embarrassing bit. By the time this film finished, I'll admit it, I was crying like a little girl. Luckily for me, there were still other films to go, so the lights remained dimmed and nobody saw me.

Laugh if you will, but I'm comfortable engaging with my emotions, thanks very much. That said, it's still not that common for a film to provoke that kind of a reaction from me. In fact, as far as I can remember, that means JANEY MARY is joining the elite ranks of just three other films that have made me greet like a wee lassie: IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, BRIEF ENCOUNTER and CAROUSEL (when they all start singing "You'll never walk alone" at the end - don't tell me you didn't have something in your eye either).

So how exactly did this film manage such a feat?

First off, let's put it in context. For reasons I'm not going to go into here, the plight of families surviving through horrendous poverty, particularly in Scotland and Ireland, is a matter that is close to my heart and therefore one which I perhaps find more affecting than other people might. (And no, just in case you're thinking otherwise, I can assure you that I did not grow up in poverty, so you can put your violin away.) That such hardship is visited upon a mere child (the title character being a mere five years old) makes the film all the more powerful.

So that's a start. But let's be sure about something else - the film is incredibly well made. The period setting is evoked flawlessly, or at least as far as I know. I'm sure some pedantic historian will come out with some nonsense about someone having the wrong type of button on their coat or something, but as far as I can tell, the realisation of old Dublin is a triumph.

On top of the production, setting and costumes, the film also looks amazing. Photographed in stark black and white, the imagery is successful both in lending the film an old fashioned look in keeping with period but also in just looking like an exceptionally well-shot film. It's beautiful.

The main contributing factor however has to be the performance of young Kelsey Enright, who plays the title role. The performance is pure gold, a truly astounding achievement considering the lassie can't have been more than four or five years old. In fact, without a hint of exaggeration, I can confidently state that this is the single best performance by a child actor in any film I've ever seen. In most cases, a child actor merely managing to not be really annoying is regarded by me as being a triumph; in the case of JANEY MARY the performance is far and away the highlight of the film.

The result is both magical and heartrending. Certainly, there are no weak points anywhere in the cast - they're all terrific no matter how small the role - but it's Enright's show, and she carries the whole film more emphatically than the majority of adult actors in Hollywood ever manage.

I can't even highlight a single scene, such is the myriad of memorable moments. Janey gazing longingly at a jar of sweets in a shop window; or standing alone in a massive church doorway, hoping fruitlessly for some signs of food; having to return to her mother with nothing to show for her efforts; it's all totally heartbreaking.

If I was to single out only one thing that was, in a way, a down point, it's that film was just too damn good at engaging my emotions. Such was the power of this little film that it haunted me for days afterwards. Despite repeatedly telling myself "it's just a movie" there was something about it that just refused to let go and I found myself on more than one occasion wandering the streets of Galway desperately trying to find something that would cheer me up and make me forget all about the hardships of that poor little girl from Dublin.

The end result is that if I was ever to meet Mr Brady, I don't know whether I'd congratulate him on an incredible film or punch him in the face for ruining the rest of my weekend. Since he's probably bigger than me, it's most likely to be the former, but either way he can content himself with a job well done.

That of course leads me in to my usual rant about the treatment of short films. I won't regurgitate too much of my previous spleen-venting, but suffice to say that it's a crime that films this good are being made when they don't have the kind of outlet they deserve. Outside of film festivals and very occasional TV screenings, where exactly do people go to see these films?

Sure, there are plenty of sites on the internet to make such things available but this has many problems associated with it. For one thing, you need to weed out the good films from the huge amount of dross; secondly, why should a filmmaker slave away for so long on a film only to give it away for nothing? That's what it amounts to, after all. And finally, while it's good to get anyone watching short films, they really deserve an audience - and I mean a proper audience, not one guy watching on a laptop in his bedroom.

I've said all this before of course, so I'll leave it at that. If you are really interested in seeing more about this terrific little film however, you could at least pop over to the film's official website, which is at www.janeymary.com (not hard to remember, is it?). There's a wealth of information there, including the original short story and a trailer for the movie, which at least goes some way towards demonstrating the brilliance of Enright's performance.

Interestingly, the web site states that Brady is trying to get a feature version of JANEY MARY made. I certainly wish him all the best with it. I'd only have two concerns with it - firstly, if Enright isn't in it (which I'd assume is the case unless it's made very soon) then the lead actress has an almost impossible act to follow.

My second concern is that I'll need to make sure nobody in the cinema is sitting close enough to me to see me weeping.

Galway 2008: Irish Short Films

I may have finished all the Irish feature films I saw at the Galway Film Fleadh this year, but there's still one strand left to cover. I managed to catch one of the short film compilations (there were a few over the course of the festival) so thoughts on each of the films in the selection I saw (New Irish Shorts programme 1 if you're interested) are as follows.

UP FOR AIR (Mark Hodkinson, Richie Conroy) is a comedy in which a layabout young man has a chance encounter with his younger self. There's not much in the way of visual flair, but it's a competently made film with a witty script and a likable enough cast.

RETIREMENT (Joseph Campbell) concerns an old man who lives alone - or so he thinks. In fact, he is sharing his abode with a mouse and it appears that the house is only big enough for one of them. Comedy hijinks ensue, although the film is not without a touch of misery running through it.

REARVIEW (Jake McKone) is a witty look at a day in the life of an Irish taxi driver. As the story rolls on, the twist in the tail becomes slightly obvious before it happens but the director and cast have enough of a talent for comedy that even when it does happen you still can't help laughing out loud.

JANEY MARY (Paul Brady) is a short film that I'm going to write a separate blog entry about at a later date. Does that mean I loved it? Did I hate it? Am I just going to use it as a springboard to rant about something else entirely? It wouldn't be the first time, but I guess you'll have to come back soon to find out.

THE SILVER BOW (Robert Manson) is a touching little film showing a glimpse into the life of a Dublin street performer. If you've ever seen those guys standing in the street dressed as statues and thought they just looked like twats, this film might make you think twice!

DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE (Luke McManus) sees a brief glimpse of a lady's face trigger a flashback in a young man's memory to a fleeting encounter at an Irish music festival. I'll be honest, I didn't really take to this one at all but I don't grudge it the prize it won because whatever I didn't like about it, I have to admit it was one of the more visually striking entries in this shorts programme.

BASIN (Stevie Russell) is another short which, as with DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE, was visually impressive but otherwise left me cold. A man climbs out of a canal and, well, not much else really. Looks good though.

A SHORT FILM ABOUT CLEANING (Lorna Fitzsimons) again demonstrates that the director certainly has a firm grasp of filmmaking, but as accomplished as it is, it's still just a film of a woman cleaning a toilet. The director certainly shows promise though.

EIRIGH (Cathy Brady) looks stunning, a very brief film of the emergence of an Irish warrior, bearing some resemblance to an Irish take on Zack Snyder's film adaptation of Frank Miller's 300. I must confess however that I fear my ignorance of certain parts of Irish history probably meant this film didn't mean as much to me as it did to others.

ASBO BUMBLE BEE (Christian Johnston) is another comedy short. Following a bumble bee around for a day (or rather a man dressed as a bee) the film provokes laughs from the bee's antisocial behaviour but is enhanced no end by the weirdly memorable adaptation of a George Formby song as the film's soundtrack. Very rough around the edges, but funny.

PARALLEL THOUGHTS (David Souto) is a story of two lovers. Looks nice enough, but I really didn't get it.

WHO? (Paulina Plezia) is a look into the day-to-day existence of a woman struggling with her gradual loss of memory. It could have been fleshed out a little more but is still an honest look at a serious issue.

WALK ON BY (Tim Hanan) is a comedic look at the rivalry between two joggers. Darkly humorous, the punch line is hilarious. Another very funny film.

WINDING DOWN (Richard Parkin) is a portrait of an aging clock repairman who is struggling to continue but refuses to give up. The story is slight but delivered in style, with a good performance from the lead actor, whose name I forget, and a lovely look about the film.

THE MORSE COLLECTORS (David Cooke) takes place during wartime Ireland and centres around two Irish children. The boy is convinced that household noises are sending him messages in morse code; his sister is not convinced. Together they investigate and discover a very dark secret. This film was one of the most visually accomplished, cinematic films in this programme but it's certainly not without substance either, with the film packing an emotional punch that won't soon be forgotten.

WITHOUT WORDS (Brian Deane) is a short film that I already saw and mentioned last year in my coverage of the short films I saw at the Cork Film Festival. It was one of the best films I saw there, and it was one of the best films I saw here too. It's a touching look at a very serious problem in society and deserves a wider viewing - I'm delighted to say that it scooped a prize at the online Babelgum film festival in Cannes (and I believe if you're a Babelgum user you can download the film). Well deserved prize!

THE PERILS OF INTERNET DATING (Simon Eustace) is a lightweight but amusing glimpse into, well, exactly what it sounds like.

A LIFE (Jo Mangan) is a very short love story that might not amount to much but what it does it does with a whole lot of flair. Another visually arresting film.

THE CONFESSION (Thomas Hefferon) sees a young man attend confession and have an interesting conversation with a priest. Another great punch line.

THE PORTRAIT (Rouzie Hassanova) offers another case of a film that looks nice but doesn't connect. It certainly takes great care in addressing a controversial issue but again I just didn't connect.

THE MAN IN 301 (David Freyne) is the final film of the selection and sees a group of prison inmates tell their story, each of them blaming the titular character for their predicament. Dark and stylishly shot, the main talking point of this one is that it's a musical, with each of the inmates adopting a slightly different sound to tell their story. It's an interesting film and I must confess that some of the music was rather catchy.

Galway 2008: last of the Irish features

ALARM is a contemporary Irish thriller which sees a young lady (Ruth Bradley) buy her dream home in an out-of-town housing development outside Dublin. Unfortunately for her, she's still haunted by a break-in incident in her past - a situation not helped when even in her new home it appears that a burglar has a grudge against her.

In the film's favour, it does have something to say about the sterility of these out-of-town housing developments, the streets populated by commuting business high-flyers who don't speak to their neighbours, whole estates of characterless communities which serve little purpose except somewhere for people to sleep in between trips to the big city.

Sadly, it fails in most other areas. Below par acting, an air of unintended silliness to the script and some really unsympathetic characters (the boyfriend's supposed to be some kind of enigma - he's not, he's just bland)... it just doesn't work. It's a thriller with very few thrills. Bradley's lovely, I'll give you that, but I'm afraid I was expecting a little more than eye candy. I didn't get it though.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also disappointed by SUMMER OF THE FLYING SAUCER too. A totally redundant intro scene featuring a cameo by Patrick Bergin tells us we're about to witness a story of growing up in the 60s. That's what we get right enough, but sadly it's a story populated with drippy teens, boring aliens and stereotypical supporting characters. No cliche is left unturned as two aliens (crashlanded in Ireland) unite with the hippy outcast to try and escape from the unwelcoming village community.

None of the cast shine particularly, and to be honest the most interesting observation on that front came when I spotted Lalor Roddy in a minor role. I don't believe I've ever seen any other screen work by him but he was in THIS PIECE OF EARTH at last year's Edinburgh Fringe, the single best piece of theatre I've ever seen.

The film will probably win over younger viewers and perhaps charm a few older ones who are familiar with the Irish setting, the 60s fashions or both. However, it's not a great film and is unlikely to be revisited by me. I gather it has secured an Irish cinema release this month though, so fair play to it and I wish it all the best - but I believe that 32A has also secured a release in Ireland too so if you want some Irish family entertainment, probably best to check that one instead. Actually, if you're Irish, you should see them both, if only to support your local film industry.

The last of the Irish feature films I saw was a big improvement. Again, it's a cast of mainly youngsters and again it's set in the recent past. This time however the movie, PEACEFIRE, deals with a bunch of dropout kids coping (or not) with the troubles in Northern Ireland. When one of them (SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY's John Travers) is offered the opportunity to turn tout for the Brits against the IRA (neither side being particularly friendly toward him), a world of trouble is visited upon him. Well acted, this compelling, gritty story is a triumph and a delightful end to my spate of Irish films from the Fleadh.

I'm not finished with Galway yet though - there are still a bunch of short films I saw there, plus another Irish film that I happened to see there outside of the Fleadh. So more is to come!

Galway 2008: two more from Ireland

Next up in my summary of Irish films viewed at Galway is domestic drama OUR WONDERFUL HOME by Ivan Kavanagh.

While the entire film is shot in a fly-on-the-wall documentary style, it's essentially structured in two parts. There's the actual documentary part, in which a girl and her parents are interviewed about their life and how lovely it is; then there's the drama part, in which we see the dark truth of the matter.

What unfolds is a stormy tale of the breakdown of a family and how greed and mistrust lead them all into places they'd rather not be. It's an unusual film and to say any more about the events that unfold may risk spoiling your enjoyment, so I'll not bother.

The film feels very much like a stage play, having a very small cast, very few locations (the claustrophobic feeling adding to the mood of the piece) and a lot of dialogue. Such an approach is always a potential pitfall in cinema but here it works in the film's favour. The cast certainly helps, with each of them delivering strong performances - there's the odd moment involving the teenage lead where I just wanted to slap her, but otherwise they're all excellent.

The only other real gripe I have with the film is that in going for a naturalistic, documentary feel, there's a little too much in the way of natural lighting - at least I'm assuming that's what it was - and it looks a bit too murky in places. Perhaps that's an artistic decision and I'll give Kavanagh the benefit of the doubt, but I didn't like it. That said, it's a very small complaint about an overall terrific piece of indie filmmaking.

I've raved here before about the Irish hit ONCE, which really did well in capturing the bohemian and romantic magic of Dublin. Well my next Irish film from Galway could, in that respect, be considered the flipside. If you want to see Dublin as a dark and scary place, KISSES is for you.

Kylie and Dylan are two kids who, following a domestic incident, run away from their rundown suburban home and find themselves wandering the streets of Dublin. As characters in such films are wont to do, they run into a wild assortment of characters and situations as Dylan searches for his brother, who is said to live somewhere in Dublin.

Despite making Dublin look like a horror show, the film is beautifully shot. It's a blend of colour and black and white, but as for how they're combined, it's best to see for yourself. I'll just say it's very clever and very effective and leave it at that.

Risky as it is for a film to be built round two kids, Kelly O'Neill and Shane Curry both hold their own and are a large part of the film's success. Though it might be a tough sell in more cynical markets, I'm hoping KISSES will pick up a widespread distribution. If it does, be sure to see it.

More Irish film coverage to come!

Galway 2008: WAITING FOR THE LIGHT

My round-up of Irish films from Galway Film Fleadh continues. I happen to think today's entry is rather important for reasons that will be clear by the end.

WAITING FOR THE LIGHT was a late addition to my schedule, but I'm glad I chose to include it as it marked another achievement in my (accidental) ongoing quest to become the biggest non-Irish Irish-cinema geek in the world.

You've read about my MOSNEY/SEAVIEW Dublin-Toronto double header; you've read about how I managed to see short film NO REGRETS IN THE WEST at three separate festivals; now, marvel as I tell you all about how I saw an Irish film in which I appeared!

That's not to be confused with A FILM WITH ME IN IT, which also played at Galway, although if you're here to read about that then check out my recent Edinburgh round-up as I saw it there. Nope, this was a film with ME in it.

WAITING FOR THE LIGHT, which I believe was made for Irish TV, documents the life and work of George Morrison.

If you've just asked "who?" I'm not surprised. He's practically the father of Irish cinema and yet he's neglected in his homeland and pretty much unheard of outside of Ireland. In fact, an English woman mentioned this specifically in the Q&A afterwards and I almost piped up, but then thought better of it as she's probably right. Let's face it, there probably aren't that many people in Scotland who pay as much attention to Irish film as I do, and the ones that do are probably Irish.

Morrison is not just a filmmaker but also a preserver of history. His huge ongoing project to archive/catalogue moving images of Ireland from throughout the world made him the perfect person to piece together the stunning 1959 film MISE EIRE, a documentary covering Ireland's fight for independence up until the outbreak of the war of independence (this and the civil war were covered in the sequel, SAIORSE?), using original archival material that might otherwise have been lost, including newsreel footage from the time of the Easter 1916 rising.

Not prolific by any means, he has frequently found himself struggling to get anything made due to his refusal to compromise his artistic vision. Last year he directed his first film in over 30 years, the lovely documentary DUBLIN DAY.

When DUBLIN DAY premiered at the Stranger Than Fiction festival last year, I was there - go on, check my blog archives and see - which is how I ended up appearing in WAITING FOR THE LIGHT. You see, a brief shot of audience members waiting in the Irish Film Institute's foyer before the film includes myself, however briefly. Granted, that's not much of an appearance, but it still gave me a cheap thrill. I was at an Irish film festival watching an Irish documentary film in which I watched an Irish documentary film at an Irish film festival - how post-modern!

But enough of such frivolity. The documentary was fascinating from start to finish, giving me even more of an appreciation of the man and his talent not just for filmmaking but for ensuring Ireland's modern history is preserved for generations to come.

I can't emphasise Morrison's importance enough, especially if you happen to be Irish. I was delighted to hear that the IFI are carrying out a retrospective later this year, but in the meantime, go and pick up a copy of MISE EIRE and SAOIRSE?, both of which are available on DVD from Gael Linn in Ireland, and spread the word. (Despite MISE EIRE, the first film made in the Irish language, being probably the most important Irish film ever made, neither it nor the sequel are even listed on IMDb at the time I type this. Evidence if it was needed that Morrison's work is criminally under-recognised)

George Morrison is a master filmmaker and an extremely important Irishman. It would be nice to think that he could be widely recognised as such within his own lifetime instead of waiting until it's too late.

Galway 2008: a couple of Irish films

So here's the first part of my round-up of the numerous Irish films I saw at the recent Galway Film Fleadh (the main reason I went, after all).

ANTON, written by and starring Anthony Fox, is inspired by actual events. I have no idea what that means. It could be a really true story, or it could be a totally untrue one that happens to have one or two names the same. I don't know. Whatever, it's actually quite good.

The plot concerns a young man who, already with some trouble in his past, chooses to get involved in anti-British attacks in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday. However, when it all goes wrong, he finds himself having to choose between his country and his family.

Although the film is a little rough around the edges, most of the cast do a good enough job, with Fox convincing in the lead, the exceptionally pleasing on the eye Laura Way proves to be more than just a pretty face in the female lead and Gerard McSorley, one of Ireland's top actors, brings that touch of class that he usually brings to anything he appears in. Tension is maintained, the seventies period setting is ably realised and all in all it's a modest but gripping little thriller.

SATELLITES AND METEORITES is a love story with comedic touches - I hesitate to call it a romantic comedy as it doesn't deserve to be labelled with such a conventional term. A man and a woman lie in separate beds in a hospital, in comas. They also happen to meet in a completely different life. Characters around them pop up in all different guises. There's a meteor shower. Or is there? What the bloody hell is going on?

I won't say too much more about it except that while it's not without its flaws (at times it all gets a little bit too whimsical and odd) it's full of imagination and fully deserves a viewing. A likeable cast, lead by Adam Fergus and Amy Huberman, make up for other shortfalls and ensure that the film will charm most viewers.

Some films from Galway Film Fleadh 2008

It might be a while before I manage to post again (but hey, it might not) so I thought I'd briefly squeeze out a few words about my recent trip to the Galway Film Fleadh. The main reason I went is Galway's strong reputation for new Irish cinema - so in order to keep things brief, I'm going to start by telling you about the few non-Irish films I saw. All the Irish features and shorts will follow soon!

BLACKOUT is a horror/thriller which sees three people trapped in a lift during a power cut in a largely abandoned building. Unfortunately, one of them is a real nasty piece of work. Even more unfortunately, the film is dreadful.

The script is weak - dialogue is the worst culprit, and the more adult (or offensive) it tries to sound, the more juvenile it becomes. Things are not helped by the cast being filled out by a bunch of nobodies either. It even strays into the now-tired "torture porn" category with one particularly nasty but unintentionally hilarious murder scene. All in all, it's tosh of the worst kind.

THE WAVE, thankfully, was a different story. This German film sees an unorthodox school teacher trying an experiment with his class following the declaration of one of his pupils that the Nazi horror could never happen again. When it goes too far, he decides to stop it, only to discover that he is no longer in control.

My main reason for seeing THE WAVE is that everyone I spoke to at the EIFF last month saw it and raved about it - and I managed to miss it. I'm glad I caught it here (though it should be assured of a wider release soon) because it's brilliant. Easily one of the year's best thrillers - in fact, one of the year's best films - and I urge you all to see it.

YOUNG @ HEART is a moving portrait of a choir who tour the country covering well known pop songs. The director's politely spoken voice-over grates at times, often being redundant or intrusive but otherwise it's all rather touching. You see, the choir members have an average age of about 80.

Naturally, at that age, things are not always smooth-sailing so you can see where some of the emotional moments are likely to arise. That does not however stop it from being extremely moving. Originally made for TV, it was extended, re-jigged a bit and is now doing cinemas all over the place. A wise choice, as this is something that deserves widespread exposure.

Irish features and short film coverage to follow. Sometime.