The spirits of the island”, a must-see film with a great cast

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A black comedy capable of captivating right from the initial subject: “The spirits of the island” by Martin McDonagh, the absolute protagonist of the weekend in theaters, is one of those films capable of involving from the very first minutes.
Set in Ireland in the 1920s, the film tells the story of two men who have been lifelong friends whose bond threatens to break when one of them decides to break up with the other, apparently for no good reason. . The consequences of this gesture will be unpredictable for both.

Written by the director himself, Island Spirits places at the center of the narrative not only the relationship between the two (former?) friends, but also that between human beings and nature, wonderfully exploiting the splendid natural Irish landscapes of the island in which the story takes place.

The charm of Ireland

However, the charm of Ireland is not palpable only for the representation of the cliffs, meadows and lakes, but also for the folk traditions, starting from the Banshees of the original title (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), legendary creatures of the Irish tradition and Scottish, which do not show themselves to humans with the exception of those who are near death.

The metaphor of war

The clash between the two characters becomes a metaphor for the war that is being fought on the mainland in the meantime: distant and close at the same time from where the main story takes place, the battle – the reference is to the Irish Civil War – becomes a symbolic representation of the rivalry between two men who had a brotherly relationship and then suddenly find themselves enemies. Mixing dark tones with other farcical ones, the film passes through various narrative registers, always managing to maintain an extraordinary dramaturgical hold thanks to the excellent writing of Martin McDonagh himself, who had already proved to be a skilled screenwriter in his previous feature film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing , Missouri.” The performance of the whole cast is excellent, starting with the two protagonists Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, with the latter perfectly placed in the role of a middle-aged man who finds himself trapped in an existence that he no longer feels belongs to him. highlight that the film has already had numerous awards, from the Venice Film Festival, where it was previewed, up to the Golden Globes and is preparing for the next stage at the Oscar awards: “The spirits of the island” received nine, deserved nominations and will be among the great protagonists of the most awaited ceremony of the year.

Knocking at the door

Among the most awaited releases there is also “The Door Knock” by M. Night Shyamalan, one of the many films capable of talking about the contemporary world (another example is the beautiful documentary “Life Is (Not) a Game”, which reflects on years in which we are living and on the pandemic, seen through the eyes of the Roman street artist Laika). Also in this case, already from the first sequence we are immersed in a deeply engaging work: little Wen and her two dads, Eric and Andrew, they decide to spend a few days in an isolated house in the woods, completely surrounded and immersed in nature. While playing in the forest, however, Wen runs into a man named Leonard, who poses politely and seems interested in talking to her. Soon, however, three other people arrive, who are approaching her with various tools and objects in their hands: the four strangers will ask the family to make an unthinkable choice to avoid the apocalypse. Mixing tones of Greek tragedy with various elements of biblical symbology, Shyamalan signs a film that uses archetypes and classic schemes of the past (an isolated house in the woods where menacing strangers arrive is a typical cliché of the genre) to talk about the fears of the present, reasoning on the threat of climate change, on the dangers of technology and even on the theme of the pandemic. Although some passages are too didactic and in the course of the narration there are too many explanations (the explicit reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse could have been avoided), however, the film has its own great conceptual and constructive strength, both for the food for thought proposed, and for a rhythm that keeps the tension very high until the end. The result is a product that confirms the skill of this director, of which – in addition to numerous successful feature films – the “Servant” series should also be mentioned, which this year has reached its fourth season .