Eat the Peach

The film is about two men with a random and frivolous idea, actually if they were to have any respect for the circumstances they were living in it's a stupid idea. Nevertheless they commit themselves to it and in following through on their commitment they find resources of courage and creativity, shining a light back onto a 1980's Ireland so lacking in those traits.

The film doesn't make itself out to be better than the characters, it shares their commitment to the beauty of the idea and to the internal logic and urgency of the project. It's not ironic or snide and the characters aren't made out to be quaint or laughable. There's a space and a gentleness in the way they pass the time (which is one thing they're rich in) with each other and their families.

The reality they're up against is a fairly accurate depiction of the spirit and mood of 1980's Ireland if my memory serves, and the filmmakers somehow managed to get it financed and produced without paying for foreign investment with clichéd scenes for the prejudices of our Anglo-American cousins. I'm amazed that some meddling producer didn't push for a humorous confession scene where the priest turns out to be an expert on motorcycles, or protest that the pub with the bare walls and silent characterless men staring down into their pints didn't look "Irish" enough. Most of the time as Irish people we have to cringe or fast forward through these scenes, but this film has details and in-jokes just for us - the Southfork-inspired house of the local bigwig, the ministerial Merc, the young, dynamic Pat Kenny stepping out of the RTE van.

In a way, "Eat the Peach" is a classic. The catch is that this film never attempted to pander - or even explain itself - to an international audience. You had to be Irish - and probably rural Irish at that - to understand much of the humour and many of the characters (especially Niall Toibin's "faux returned Yank").

Similarly, the peat industry references and the sub-plot revolving around cross-border smuggling are likely to have been lost on overseas viewers. "Eat the Peach" was made before the Irish film industry had truly found its feet and so, perhaps unintentionally, seemed to have been aimed mostly at domestic movie-goers.

This, IMHO, is why this movie is remembered fondly in Ireland but has never received the international exposure it may otherwise have enjoyed. At heart this is a film about courage and optimism. About pitting one's wits against a hopeless situation. About living as a pawn yet trying to turn the tables on "the man."

And in those terms, "Eat the Peach" is a runaway success. It deserves to become more widely known.

I did not find this movie to be the piece of crap that some here thought it was. Of course, then again, I'm not from Ireland and didn't see it through their (perhaps personal) eyes. I found it to be an honest, not stupid, little slice of life story about struggles of life and personal dreams, small though they may be. I surely saw a countryside unlike any in the states. The star, as it should be, is the wall-of-death these guys build. I was pleased that it is a focus here, and is shown a lot. It is shown throughout, as they actually had to build it from the ground up for the movie. It is very real. Watch it flex. It's hard to find an old wall-of-death touring in the US anymore. The riding-the-wall shots are frequent, done well, and show these actors honestly riding. This is refreshing. Compare that to movies about any other action-activity or sport like climbing, racing, football, horses, etc.

The 'Eat the peach' of the title comes from a poem by T.S. Eliot: 'The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock' and is about doing whatever you want to do and not worrying about what other people think.

There have been worse Irish films inflicted on the world. Especially those dealing with historical figures and events yet unconcerned with accuracy. INTNOTF and (no names) the one which insulted peoples intelligence by, among other anomalies, having booby trapped cars go off in the middle of Dublin castle in 1919 ???????? Hardly visionary.

Eat the peach, on the other hand, is a solid little film. A work of pure imagination. Set in the early eighties it captured the reality of life for a lot of people with a lot of time on their hands and little money in their pockets, a full ten years before the tiger struck, when there were few prospects other than to go abroad. So here you have a film about a guy that wants to do something different and stand out from the crowd.

Both times I saw it I was abroad and as it was filmed in the area I am from (having watched some of it being filmed when I was a kid) there could be an element of bias borne of sentimentality to this review. though, my partner, an Aussie of eclectic taste, also thinks its a good film. And its hard to please her.

Filmed in the same year as another excellent Irish film, 'Lamb', it may not have a big budget but it has a lot of heart and a lot of honesty. The soundtrack is excellent. Hopefully they release it on DVD at some point soon.

It may look a bit bleak but it was filmed during the wettest summer I can remember, 1985. I love the opening scene of the boys tearing about on the bikes across the bog past the peat machines with the uileann pipes on the soundtrack. It may not be the 'Torres del Paine' or 'the Flinders ranges' but it is home.

I saw this on its release in 1986 and really enjoyed. Nothing spectacular just a film on the struggle of 2 men who have been made redundant and decide to do something different. I was a little bit reminded of Eat the Peach when I watched Take Shelter. A bit of stretch maybe but it did remind me. Yesterday I saw footage from 1979 on the real life men who the film was based on and who actually built a Wall of Death in Granard County Longford. It reminded me of the film and I have ordered a copy. I hope it is as good as I remember from all those years ago

Don't expect an Oscar winner but it is hard not to watch and enjoy

Thanks