Worth waiting for: Highly-rated Famine drama Arracht hits cinemas at last
Dónall Ó Héalai (centre) in a scene from Arracht.
One of the finest and most powerful Irish films of recent years comes to cinemas this week following lengthy release delays due to the pandemic.
Told in the Irish language, Arracht (Monster) is a drama thriller set during the Famine and tells the story of Coleman, a young man forced to go on the run following a confrontation that leads to a night of violence. But redemption may come in the form of a young girl who needs his help.
Actor Dónall Ó Héalai has been winning widespread praise for his lead performance. While it’s been a long wait for release, in many ways Arracht feels like a fitting movie for the times we have lived.
“It captures the survival instinct of the human spirit, absolutely.” says the actor. “I think Kitty, Saise Ní Chuinn’s character, is really such an embodiment of hope. I think there is a lot of hope in the film, despite dealing with a lot of suffering.”
In preparing for the role, he was reminded of The Immortal Irishman, the story of rebel Thomas Francis Meagher, who was sent to Van Diemen’s Land before escaping and making his way to America.
“He lived many lives and despite going through many hardships he always managed to survive and I think Coleman has that same ability. If you were to drop him in any corner of the world at any time, he’d make his way. I think the relationship he has with the land and sea and also with herbs and with seaweed, his medicinal knowledge, is something that was more evident in people who lived that type of existence back then.
“It was a story that was obviously very close to the bone. It’s not often that you read the script and you’re very much aware that if you were to turn back the clock 170 odd years, that this could be your story, this could be you in these circumstances.”
Writer/director Tom Sullivan’s visual murder ballad was all the more special an experience for the actor because it was shot less than an hour away from Spiddal, his home town. Production took place in Lettermullan, on the most westerly tip of southern Connemara.
“I think the location is very much a character in the film, especially in how [cinematographer] Kate McCullough used the scenery there - the stone, the granite, the sea. When Tom and Kate were having discussions about where to shoot, they were conscious of finding a place that was kind of beautiful, but not pretty. There was a specific aesthetic feel that they were looking for. And I think it works well for the story.
“I grew up in Spiddal, which is about an hour tops from Lettermullan. As close to home as you’ll get. It very much added to the connection I had with the script in the first place. When you get to shoot in your own part of the world it’s a very special experience,” he says, adding that the people of Lettermullan made filming an even richer experience.
“You hear the phrase that it takes a village to raise a child - I think it takes a village to make a film. And I think they were beyond accommodating and generous with their time and knowledge.”
Ó Héalai will shortly begin work on a new, yet-to-be-announced English-language TV series. Next spring we will see him in Foscadh, another Irish-language drama which was recently selected as Ireland’s entry for best foreign-language feature at the Oscars.
With Korea’s Parasite winning Best Picture at the Oscars and streamers regularly snapping international series, is it an exciting time to be a bilingual actor?
“Absolutely. I’m just so grateful that I came up in a time where there was a chance to tell these stories. I think anyone involved in the creative process from actors to writers, directors, cinematographers, they’re coming up now when there are more stories being told, and specifically stories being told in the Irish language.
"It’s a very exciting time and I think it also kind of echoes a shift I would say, on a larger scale, where there is just more of an interest in films and stories that are not in English.
“From shows like Unorthodox to Call My Agent, Parasite - all of these films and shows seem to have certainly made it more accessible, just more normal to watch something that's in subtitles. I guess the hope is that it transcends language as well.”
- Arracht opens in cinemas on Friday, October 15
