Daren Waters at the BBC:
Ken Loach speaking at the Cannes film festival said The Wind That Shakes The Barley was a story he had to tell.
Set in Ireland in the 1920s it recounts events that led to the formation of an independent Ireland and the creation of Northern Ireland.
Loach’s aim is to cast his political eye on events that are rarely discussed in the UK and beyond and remain open wounds for many Irish citizens.
Cillian Murphy plays Damien, a young man set to leave Ireland and become a doctor in London.
But events overtake him.
At the start of the film, Ireland remains an effective colony of the UK; with British soldiers stationed in the country.
Damien witnesses the murder of a young friend, killed at the hands of brutal British soldiers because he would only give his name in Gaelic, and not in English.
More here.