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Into the West (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Into the West' is a 1992 Irish magical realist"Irish and African American Cinema:Identifying Others and Performing Identities", p. 179 (Maria Pramaggiore, SUNY Press, 2012) film about Irish Travellers written by Jim Sheridan and directed by Mike Newell, and stars Gabriel Byrne and Ellen Barkin.
'Into the West' was one of several major films to come from Ireland during the 1990s, including the likes of 'My Left Foot', 'The Field', 'The Miracle', 'The Commitments', 'The Boxer', 'The Playboys', 'In the Name of the Father', 'War of the Buttons' and 'The Crying Game'.
Plot
'Into the West' is a film about two young boys, Tito (Conroy) and Ossie (Fitzgerald), whose father "Papa" Reilly (Byrne) was "King of Irish Travellers" until his wife, Mary, died during the birth of their second son, Ossie. The boys' grandfather (David Kelly) is an old story-telling Traveller, who regales the children with Irish folk-tales and legends. When he is followed by a beautiful white horse called Tr na ng (meaning "Land of Eternal Youth" in Irish), from the sea to Dublin, where the boys and their father have now settled down in a grim tower block in Ballymun, the boys are overwhelmed with joy and dreams of becoming cowboys. The horse is stolen from them and they begin their adventure to get their mystical horse back. They escape the poverty of a north Dublin council estate, and ride "Into the West" where they find that Tr na ng is not just a horse.
Cast
* Gabriel Byrne as Papa Reilly
* Ellen Barkin as Kathleen
* Ciarn Fitzgerald as Ossie
* Raidhr Conroy as Tito (credited as Ruaidhr Conroy)
* David Kelly as Grandfather
* Johnny Murphy as Tracker
* Colm Meaney as Barreller
* John Kavanagh as Hartnett
* Brendan Gleeson as Inspector Bolger
* Jim Norton as Superintendent O'Mara
* Anita Reeves as Mrs. Murphy
* Ray McBride as Mr. Murphy
* Dave Duffy as Morrissey
* Stuart Dannell-Foran as Conor Murphy (credited as Stuart Dannell)
* Becca Hollinshead as Birdy Murphy
Production
The script was written by Jim Sheridan, who did not intend to write simply for children, although the film mainly follows two young children on the run with their beautiful, magical white horse. Other themes targeted to adults, are also present: grief, the clash of cultures with differing values, and the use of the police by the rich and powerful to enforce property rights in their favour.Brian Koller (25 November 1999) Sheridan wrote the script five years before he directed 'My Left Foot'.
Gabriel Byrne said it was one of the best scripts he ever read, and described it at the time as Jim Sheridan's best work to date. Byrne was committed to the work, he said; 'Apart from it being a story about Travellers, and the relationship between a father and his two sons, it really was in a way about Ireland.' Ellen Barkin said that from the first reading she thought it an extraordinary piece of film writing.
The movie's most memorable scenes, such as the horse in the cinema and the beans exploding, were shot in the small town of Portarlington in County Laois.
Reception
The film has received a mostly positive critical reception. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 77% based on reviews from 13 critics.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said the "kids will probably love this movie, but adults will get a lot more out of it".Roger Ebert (17 September 1993) Variety Staff said that "'Into the West' is a likable but modest pic", and that "a major asset throughout is Patrick Doyle's rich, Gaelic-flavoured scoring that carries the movie's emotional line and fairy tale atmosphere.Variety Staff (Dec 31, 1991) Desson Howe of 'The Washington Post' said that the film is "a charming children's crusade a rewarding journey for all ages".Desson Howe (17 September 1993) Rita Kempley of the Washington Post said that "the movie is alternately grim and lyrical", and "though long on ambiance and short on story, it may appeal to the spiritually inclined and to oater lovers.Rita Kempley (17 September 1993)
Awards
* 1993: Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film at the Cleveland International Film Festival Mike Newell.* 1993: Starboy Award at the Oulu International Children's Film Festival Mike Newell.
* 1994: Golden Calf for Best European Film at the Netherlands Film Festival Mike Newell.
* 1994: Young Artist Award for Outstanding Family Foreign Film at the Young Artist Awards Mike Newell.
* 1994: Young Artist Award for Outstanding Youth Actor in a Family Film at the Young Artist Awards Raidhr Conroy & Ciarn Fitzgerald.
Home video releases
'Into the West' was released on VHS and LaserDisc format in the US by Touchstone Home Video in 1994. The DVD was released in the US on 4 February 2003 by Miramax Home Entertainment with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen.
The VHS was released in Ireland and the UK on 21 September 1993 by Entertainment in Video. It was released on DVD in Ireland and the UK on 17 December 2001 by Entertainment in Video and again on 15 September 2003 by Cinema Club. As of 2020, it is being broadcast on the Criterion Channel in the USA and Canada.
References
Bibliography
* Lance Pettitt, 'Screening Ireland: film and television representation', Manchester University Press, 2000, 320 p.* Joe Cleary, 'Outrageous Fortune: Capital and Culture in Modern Ireland', vol. 1, Field Day Publications, coll. Field day files , 2007, 320 p.
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