The Secret of Roan Inish
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Actor: Dave Duffy, Declan Hannigan, Jeni Courtney, Mairéad Ní Ghallchóir, Pat SloweyBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-07-25
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of The Secret of Roan Inish
DVD Review: Spot-On Evocation of the Irish Coast
Summary: 5 Stars
It seems that the spirits of a place, once having welcomed you and made room for you, broken bread with you and married you, becoming, as it were, part of your family, do take it much amiss if you up and leave the place, ingrate that you are, without so much as a" how-do-you-do." They are likely to take a hostage just to make sure you don't stay away too long.
That, in a mussel-shell is the premise of John Sayles' wonderful evocation of the Irish coastal region with all its magic and mystery intact.
The Irish landscape (and seascape) is alive with elemental spirits: spirits of wells and rivers, trees and bogs, hills and plains. Every one of them has "a local habitation and a name," as the bard says, and will live harmoniously enough with humans as long as they are treated with respect and deference. "Dis" a faerie, though, and you will pay dearly.
Such is the fate of the Conneely family of Roan Inish.
The story takes place in post war (and by that I mean WWII) Ireland. It centers on a young girl, Fiona Conneely (Jeni Courtney), who has just come to live in a coastal fishing village with her grandparents, Hugh (Mick Lally) and Tess (Eileen Colgan).
Before the war, the young Conneely boys, Fiona's father, Jim among them, left the island of Roan Inish to find work in the cities after the death of her Mother, Brigid. It was on that very day that her little brother Jaimie (Cillian Byrne), was lost to the sea. His boat-shaped cradle, handed down through the generations, floated off, aided by the island's seals (Roan Inish means Island of the Seals), not to be seen again for three years. "What the sea will take," Hugh says, "the sea must have," thus giving voice to the love/hate relationship these watermen have with the sea that sustains them and, often randomly, kills them.
Distraught at the loss of his wife and his son, Fiona's father descends into alcoholism in the city and is unable to care for the girl. She is sent to his parents on the coast.
Shortly after arriving, she sees a light on Roan Inish and becomes convinced that Jaimie is still alive and still living there. Her quest to discover how and why he was taken is the engine that drives the story. What she discovers is nothing short of magic. Jaimie and she are descendants of a selkie, half human and half seal. Sometimes, a selkie sheds her seal skin to emerge as a beautiful woman (Susan Lynch) if the skin is captured, she will become a dutiful and loving wife to the man who possesses it, but if she ever finds it, will return to the sea without a moment's hesitation. Her descendants, particularly the "dark ones," one of which is born to every generation, will be gifted with the madness of "the Sight."
The Secret of Roan Inish is often found among the children's films at the video stores. It shouldn't be. Much of the film is told through stories told by various characters and flashbacks and keeping track of the action may be too much for children. Just because it involves a child and the has one foot in the world of Faerie, does not make it a children's film.
Although the disappearance of little Jaimie is a punishmnt for the Conneely's deserting Roan Inish, this is still a gentle story. The seals are not evil, after all; they are really quite beneficial to the fishermen who share the sea's bounty with them, often protecting them from its dangers. It's just that the Conneely's broke faith with them and they took Jaimie as a hostage against the family's return to the island.
The narrative line of the film is very much like an Irish hero's journey in that it tends to be circular rather than linear, and by circular I mean a concentric circle, for although Fiona passes the same spots on the journey, the passage of time and accumulated knowledge makes them appear different and give the story a forward thrust, but to one expecting a linear story line, it may seem repetitive.
The performances are universally excellent. Of particular note is Mick Lally's Hugh and Eileen Colgan's Tess. His fanciful superstition is offset against her apparent pragmatism; both veteran actors acquit themselves well. The surprise, though, is the charm of Jeni Courtney as Fiona. Sayles has managed to get a marvelous performance out of such a young and inexperienced actress. There is a directness about her and a simplicity of expression. You have to love her.
The music is one of the great elements of the film and could easily stand alone as a soundtrack.
The Secret if Roan Inish is not just for the Irish. It is a timeless tale of faith in and harmony with Nature, which is the greatest form of magic.
Description of The Secret of Roan Inish
Ten-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland. She soon learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a selkie -- a seal who can turn into a human. Years earlier, her baby brother washed out to sea in a cradle, and some think that he is being raised by the seals. Then Fiona catches sight of a naked little boy on the abandoned isle of Roan Inish and takes a more active role in uncovering the mysteries which abound.As one of the most respected American independent filmmakers, John Sayles has created a body of work as distinguished in its diversity as for its consistent quality and inspiring originality. He's never been one to march to the commercial beat, but chooses instead to follow his creative impulse wherever it leads him. The Secret of Roan Inish led Sayles to the beautiful and moody West Coast of Ireland; it is a tale of a girl who discovers that her family has been touched by myth and magic throughout the years. Following the death of her mother, young Fiona (Jeni Courtney) is sent to live with her grandparents on the Irish coast across from Roan Inish, the island where her family once lived. She's told stories about the selkies--seals that can turn into humans--who have been connected with Fiona's family over the ages. At first she's not sure if the selkies are real or mythological, but she later realizes that they hold the key to reclaiming her family heritage.
What's remarkable about this film (which Sayles adapted from Rosalie Fry's novel Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry) is that it's not told as a cute fantasy for children, but as a straightforward, unsentimental story of a young girl's family history. That gives the film--which was beautifully photographed by master cinematographer Haskell Wexler--an understated charm that is completely absorbing in its atmosphere and subtle tone. There's magic as well, to be sure--you could almost swear that the seals and seagulls in the film took direction from Sayles as well as any human actor! --Jeff Shannon
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