IRISH FILM and TELEVISION ‐ 2007 the Year in Review Tony Tracy (Ed.)
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Estudios Irlandeses, Number 3, 2008, pp. 213-262 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ AEDEI IRISH FILM AND TELEVISION ‐ 2007 The Year in Review Tony Tracy (ed.) Introduction by Tony Tracy ..................................................................................................213 From Kings to Cáca Mílis: Recent Trends in Irish Film and Television as Gaeilge Seán Crosson ...........................................................................................................................217 Cré na Cille Gearóid Denvir.........................................................................................................................222 The Kings’ Irish: Dialogue, Dialect and Subtitle in Kings Eithne O’Connell .....................................................................................................................226 Altered Images: Shrooms and Irish Cinema Roddy Flynn ............................................................................................................................229 Small Engine Repair Ruth Barton .............................................................................................................................233 Lenny Abrahamson’s Garage: A Drama of Cinematic Silence Barry Monahan .......................................................................................................................236 Prosperity: Social Realism in the New Millennium Díog O’Connell .......................................................................................................................239 The Celtic ‘Chick-flick’: How About You and PS I Love You Debbie Ging .............................................................................................................................242 The Brave One Maria Pramaggiore...................................................................................................................245 Experimental Conversations: Ourselves Connected? Donal Foreman ........................................................................................................................248 Ghosts of Empire: Mitchell and Kenyon in Ireland and Saoirse Harvey O’Brien .......................................................................................................................252 At Home With the Clearys Pat Brereton..............................................................................................................................255 Interview with Simon Perry Tony Tracy...............................................................................................................................258 Copyright (c) 2008 by the authors. This text may be archived and redistributed both in electronic form and in hard copy, provided that the authors and journal are properly cited and no fee is charged for access. Introduction Tony Tracy, February 2008 2007 will be viewed by future historians as the welcome as a credible description of the Irish year the ‘Celtic Tiger’ finally outstayed its economy or mindset. As we make our way into ____________________________________ ISSN 1699-311X 214 the palpably bleaker landscape of 2008, the past and returned. Ironically, just as these linguistic year will be recalled as another milestone in the ties began to loosen, the European Parliament redefinition of our cultural identity. Northern declared Irish an official language in January Ireland was once again central to this 2007 meaning that Ireland’s MEPs could address interrogation, though in surprising ways. The the parliament as Gaeilge for the first time; restoration of the Northern Assembly was a though to date there has been very little use made turning point for Nationalist–Unionist relations of this long sought-for recognition. and many were bemused by the warm relations These events formed part of the backdrop for between the DUP’s First Minster Ian Paisley and this year’s film and television. The status of the Sinn Fein’s Deputy First Minister Martin Irish language within the audiovisual sector McGuinness (a softening of relations that may displayed equally mixed, and perhaps surprising have contributed to Paisley’s resignation). It will fortunes. In last year’s edition we noted that be some time before there is as dramatic and Bord Scannán na hÉireann/The Irish Film Board emotional an expression of Ireland’s (IFB) had just undergone a corporate re-branding renegotiation of its nationalist project as the sight exercise and that the Irish title has been demoted of the Irish rugby team comprehensively in its logo (although it retains its premier status defeating England at the highly symbolic Croke in print), with no trace of anything vaguely Park ground (24 February 2007, IRELAND 43 Celtic or ‘traditional’ in its public image. This ENGLAND 13). For many, the resonance of this semiotic shift gained cultural traction in 2007 event was greatly augmented by their with the decision – criticised in this issue by ‘experience’ of Bloody Sunday (1920) in Neil Gearóid Denvir – by the board not to offer Jordan’s Michael Collins; itself a powerful funding to Robert Quinn’s Irish language feature argument for the importance of a national cinema Cré na Cille. That decision notwithstanding, as an historical tool. While the dignified Sean Crosson’s overview of developments in reception of ‘God Save the Queen’ signalled a Irish language broadcasting contends that there kind of ‘late-nationalist’ maturity in our relations has never been a better year for the language in with Britain that many felt proud of, the decision film and television, albeit in a still limited and by the former state airline Aer Lingus to abandon piecemeal manner. Elsewhere in our special its Shannon-Heathrow route in favour of Belfast- section on Irish language productions Eithne Heathrow tested geographical conceptions of the O’Connell derides the tokenistic and faintly nation and provoked a vociferous response preposterous melange of Irish dialects spoken in revolving around the meanings and obligations Kings, but acknowledges that there is some kind of the ‘national carrier’, and in particular the of renaissance – or more properly awakening – state’s responsibility to the west of Ireland (a in this long under-performing sector. In our long-time locus of imaginative investment in interview with the Film Board Chief Executive Irish identity) in an era of ‘Open Skies’. With the Simon Perry, he speaks of a desire to explicitly revelation that staff on these Belfast-London encourage and support the work of TG4 and put flights will not use (for the first time in Aer an end to ‘ghettoising’ Irish language production. Lingus’ history) the symbolic cúpla focal (‘a few After an extended period of lack-lustre words’ in Irish – usually on landing and take performance, it has been a good year for the IFB off), the cultural ambitions of Irishness became overall. A special on Irish film production in further diluted from the ambitions of earlier trade publication Variety in early 2007 signalled governments in more conservative times. If the a strong sense of a new beginning for the symbolism seems overstretched consider that indigenous industry. ‘Simon Perry has brought a Aer Lingus was the last and first point of contact fresh attitude to the job’, it reported, quoting with the homeland for many thousands of Perry, “One thing I set out to do was to revive a emigrants who left Ireland in the 1980s and then feeling of confidence among filmmakers here,” a returned in unprecedented numbers in 1990s to theme he follows up in greater detail in our become the bedrock of the ‘Tiger economy’. interview with a discussion of the challenges Those cúpla focal were often the last and first facing the Irish audiovisual sector and his vision words of their mother tongue heard as they left of how its future might be best approached in the 215 current conditions. build and maintain momentum. In this year’s Key to Perry’s revised structures of review Simon Perry admits as much in his engagement is a shift of emphasis away from the discussion of the ‘Catalyst’ funding scheme rather hierarchical and distrustful emphasis on while Roddy Flynn explores Shrooms as a filmmakers raising finance first in the watershed instance of where Irish cinema might marketplace before receiving public money. be heading. Other reviews reveal similar Instead, Perry seems to be offering a vote of structuring concerns: films which seem to stand confidence in Irish film producers, most evident on the threshold of the national and international, in his long-term funding for 10 indigenous or more accurately Irish and American, albeit in production companies; an unprecedented action. different ways. Ruth Barton examines the country Such confidence finds – admittedly limited – and western backdrop of Small Engine Repair, justification in the talent and indeed general Debbie Ging examines the gender demarcations variety and quality of output the Irish industry of two recent Irish ‘chick-flicks’ and Maria exhibited over the past year. Once – favourably Pramaggiore explores Neil Jordan’s New York- reviewed in these pages last year in advance of set revenge thriller The Brave One as an auteur its Sundance award and ‘breakout’ success in the work terminally compromised by the bureaucracy United States (after a pretty poor box-office of Hollywood filmmaking practices. Where such performance in Ireland), represented the feature films fit in the seemingly endless debate about film