Arracht

I found this film moving, it really got to the point and shows the life that Irish people lead in them times and in my eyes it is one of the best made famine era story's that has been told, acting was brilliant, well directed and great story would love to see more of these sort of period dramas showing the hardships of Irish people true the struggles of been suppressed for over 700 years that is not taught in schools in other nations eg Cornwall's conquest of Ireland, the battle of the Boyne just to name a few. It's great to hear our native tongue sound so beautiful in such a dark time in our history but made the film much more believable.

The start of the Irish disease potato famine in 1845 reaching its peak in 1847 where millions died & millions fled, many to the Americas where they faced discrimination. This dramatization starts with a few Irish asking their English landlord not to raise the rents as the people are starving. Subsequently an adversarial relationship develops & escalates. Titled (in my opinion inaccurately) as "Monster", but in Irish "Arracht". Some of the period Irish dialogue was hard to understand; subtitling helped somewhat.

Monster is told in the Irish language with English subtitles. Those of us of Irish-Catholic descent are familiar with the Great Hunger. A man is forced by circumstances to hide from his British rulers. The man lives a harsh life, subsisting mostly on fish. The story is tragic but necessary. One of the best foreign language movies of 2021.

The first thirty minutes of this film is very good in setting out the core of the story and the concluding ten minutes is also good. However, the middle section is a bit plodding and drags. Overall the film is well acted and very atmospheric. I saw this film at the Glasgow Film Festival.

It's a historical drama about a present we are still stuck and live in. Interesting use of special effects flickering through the memories of a mourning father and taking the dark gloominess of the moss covered coast mountains. Splendid use of audio effects setting the atmosphere. Cast put up a remarkable performance with their assignments. It's a quiet story with an intriguing progression and a beautiful conclusion. A tragedy that changed the course of a country's culture is briefed and signalled well with the brief fateful encounter between the landlord and peasant. Monster is a tale of survival that has beauty worth appreciation.