Jordan’s most recent venture into Irish-themed films, Ondine adapts Celtic faerie lore to its own ends with this story of a ‘selkie’ who appears in the nets of Cork fisherman Syracuse (Colin Farrell). Believing the young woman, Ondine (Alicja Bachleda) to be a sea-nymph, Syracuse finds her presence has led fortune to smile on him as his nets and pots fill up with catch. Outside his fishing his life remains difficult, as his daughter Annie (Alison Barry) battles kidney failure and ex-wife Maura (Dervla Kirwan) fails to control her alcoholism. The conflict between the legends that seem attached to Ondine and Syracuse’s gnarled world come into conflict, as Ondine attracts dangerous figures to Syracuse’s small town. Jordan attempts the near-impossible in crafting a story that’s ethereal and tough at the same time and Ondine is certainly a distinctive entry in his filmography, shot in hues of rich marine green by cameraman Chris Doyle.

Notes by Trevor Johnston.