Movie Review: Arracht pulls no punches about the suffering experienced during the Great Hunger
Arracht: "a fabulous evocation of an existence as grim and unforgiving as the bleak Connemara landscape"
It seems perverse to say that writer-director Tom Sullivan has made a beautiful film about the Famine, but Arracht (12A) really is an exquisite piece of work.
Dónall Ó Héalai stars as Coleman Sharkey, who farms a smallholding in Connemara with his wife and young son, and who is forced into an impossible situation by his grasping landlord, the Lieutenant (Michael McElhatton), who insists on raising rates even as the potato crop starts to rot in the fields. As his personal tragedies play out against the horrific consequences of famine, Coleman goes on the run in rural Connemara, where he encounters a young orphan, Kitty (Saise Nà Chuinn). Can the bereaved and starving Coleman afford to help Kitty? And is life still worth living if we turn our backs on those in dire need?
The Irish submission to the 2021 Oscars, — which translates as ‘Monster’ — is a fabulous evocation of an existence as grim and unforgiving as the bleak Connemara landscape. Dónall Ó Héalai is excellent as the taciturn and shockingly emaciated Coleman in a story that pulls no punches about the depth and breadth of suffering experienced during the Great Hunger. (cinema release)
