Arracht

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.

Arracht: 1845, the potato blight is on the way, it has a distinctive smell. Colmán (Dónall Ó Héalaí) is a tenant farmer, a fisherman, a poiín distiller, a folk healer. The sight of a Galway hooker boat with it's red sail, small isles in the background the sun on the sea; building a stone wall, always plenty of stones in the fields of Connemara. Drinking the poitín, Colman avoids it, eating the mackerel and potatoes. But a dark is approaching, not just the potato blight but the landlord wants to increase the rent. Patsy (Dara Devaney) a deserter from the navy has a run in with bailiff when he comes to Colmán's house. Colmán goes to the landlord in an attempt to persuade him to lower the rents, bringing Patsy with him to apologise to the bailiff. The landlord is unmoved but mayhem results when Patsy reveals his dark side.

We see the result of the Great Famine, Colmán's family are dead, many perish from disease as well as from starvation, a pestilence and a blight are upon the land. Colmán has been in hiding for two years on the islet where he kept his poitín still. Some great shots of the narrow inlet leading to Colmán's cave where he hears the voices of his dead wife and son. Venturing to the mainland occasionally, helping with his folk medicines he meets a young girl, Kitty (Saise Ní Chuinn), who he nurses back to heath. Their developing father/daughter relationship fills out the second half of the film. But there are a few plot twists and the narrative is infused with dark events. People who are hungry will act abnormally, the true horror of the Famine is illustrated through this and the sporadic finding of bodies by Colmán, these were all locals he knew. The Great Famine didn't just happen: it was imposed upon the people. Great performances by Ó Héalaí, Devaney and especially by Saise Ní Chuinn. Directed and written by Tomás Ó Súilleabháin. In Irish with English subtitles. 9/10.

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.