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Director
Bob Quinn
Credits
Producer: Bob Quinn. Writer: Colm Bairead
Principal Cast
Cyril Cusack, Donal McCann, Niall Tobin, Maighréad Ní Chongaile, Mick Lally
Category
FeatureIrish LanguageFirst Wave
Bob Quinn’s firebrand response to pastoral visions of rural Ireland, this grim depiction of rural living generated outrage when it first appeared in 1979. The story concerns two layabouts, Labhrás (Donal McCann) and Sleamhnan (Niall Tóibín), and the poitín-brewer Micíl (Cyril Cusack) they work for. Against a stony, desolate background the pair distribute Micíl’s produce, struggling to avoid the attentions of the police as they do so. A piece of chance gives the pair the opportunity to steal Micíl’s poitín and sell it as their own; the success of this scheme turns the callous animosity between employees and employers into a more dangerous conflict. Images of stupidity and cruelty dominate this defiantly unsentimental film that, even today, retains its power to act as a riposte to idealisations of Ireland.
65 minutes, Ireland, 1978, Colour
ABOUT DRY GRASSES 15:00, 19:10
AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS: THE DOOM GENERATION 17.00
ARCHIVE AT LUNCHTIME: BRITISH & IRISH (DOUBLE BILL) 13.40
CROSSING 11:40, 20:40
I SAW THE TV GLOW 15.40, 18.00
LA CHIMERA 14:10
NOTES FROM SHEEPLAND 14:00, 18:50
THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN 11:10
THE CONVERSATION 50TH ANNIVERSARY 4K RESTORATION 20:15
THE SATURDAY SERIAL: INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY 11.00
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