Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Forumrxes Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The_Poacher Kings is a movie which could have been set in practically any large metropolis on earth to where people migrate in search of a better life. The main characters could have been Russians, Poles, Brazilians, Chinese or any other nationality which is familiar with the phenomenon of mass emigration. In this instance however, the protagonists are Irishmen who left their native Connemara over 30 years previous to seek their fortune amidst the bright lights of London, whilst always retaining the intention of returning home in triumph.However, like many of the hundreds of thousands who made the same journey, life did not work out as they had planned and a number of the group have seemingly fallen through life's cracks and would appear to now exist beyond the pale of civil society. They are of the generation of Irish immigration to the UK, many of whom would have encountered a degree of anti-Irish prejudice in Thatcher's Britain and would have borne the brunt of English reaction to the IRA's bombing campaigns of the 70s and 80s. As a result, it is clear that they have retained an otherness and a dislocation from their surroundings which means they can never call England home.However the Ireland that they left, the one which their nostalgic notions still visualise, is also a changed, and indeed quite possibly foreign place. They are effectively men without a home and can seemingly deal with this fact only through immersion in drink and dysfunctionality. Women do not appear to any great extent, possibly because these men would appear to have never fully left adolescence behind. They inhabit the brutal world of the navvy, a quasi military existence eked out on the building sites and motorways of England, where the comradeship of mates is valued above all else, and where to break away from the group is viewed as being tantamount to treason. Indeed, this very issue is a major cause of tension between a number of the characters.Kings, both as a study of the world of the universal emigrant, as well as of the immigrant that he or she subsequently becomes, is of great relevance to our 21st century existence. As a study of the human condition, it succeeds in capturing the disillusionment felt by all those, regardless of race or nationality, who may believe that they have wasted their existence. How ironic indeed, that the first Irish language feature is also quite possibly, the most universally accessible Irish feature to date with regard to the treatment of its subject matter.Highly recommended.

Ronina Overall this was an excellent film, the story was good, and so was the acting. the only thing that I found difficult was the fact that it as in a language I didn't understand, so I had to read the subtitles. Don't get me wrong after a while you get used to it, and you can still enjoy the film 100 percent. other than that it is a very good film, that I would recommend! Also another aspect of this film was that the characters were very, very real. they all had different personalities. the only thing was, being from a very different country couldn't get their names until we were halfway into the film, so it did get a little confusing, but never the less I stand by what I said in the first paragraph, that this was a very well done film. And although it was a story that was sadder then most, it did have parts that were happy, even funny! it wasn't all sad and depressing. so yes, this is a good, very good film to see, so I recommend it!

Jay Kings is a very fine film. It is a haunting, melancholic portrait of lost souls, the people on our streets who once belonged to some place, somewhere in another time, but who have fallen out of touch with the world around them. Director Tom Collins seizes on this feeling of loneliness and misplacement and forces us to confront it, as we immerse ourselves in the lives of Git, Jap, Máirtín, Shay and Joe. The haunting, ghostly memory of Jackie makes us also mourn his passing, as he appears to his friends between sleeping and waking, between day and night.Indeed the film itself feels caught in time between dusk and dawn, as the characters let the world pass by in the final third of the film, when an ominous, creeping awareness invades on their drunken reverie. The atmosphere is one of a suspended moment – the group of friends toast their lost companion in an eerie, empty back room, whilst muffled noise just creeps in from the bar outside. The Irish language they speak amongst themselves reflects the otherness of their lives, their misplacement in this world. As they leave and come back, it is as if they move from one world to the other, and when they finally go, they could be gone forever.With excellent performances and a taut script, the evocative cinematography and soundtrack make this an achingly sad and beautiful work that is timeless in it's relevance.

Si in Dublin This contains the best acting I have seen in an Irish film in many years. It is a reworking of a play, and the adaptation preserves all the intensity and intimacy which is usual within a theatre production. It is a dark, brooding and menacing work which does not belong in the category of light entertainment, but rather, a higher art. If you are prepared to go on the journey, you will find it has rewards. But be warned that there is no compromise here to easy access for English only speakers - it is predominantly in Irish with English subtitles. If you like the theatre, you should find this a real treat. Forget Hollywood, or indeed Fair City, this contains the best ensemble acting by an Irish cast since the best of the Roddy Doyle films.