The Banshees Of Inisherin

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120353953#Comment_120353953

It's entirely credible that on an island that isolated, a community that enclosed during that era, you'd have friendships born from convenient proximity than shared interests. I daresay two men like that became "friends" just because they had a pint at the same time during - and what else would you be doing with yourself?

Maybe as I said that was the intent of Colm: to simply create some drama and something interesting on the island, if even a tragic rivalry. Siobhán shared a scene with Colm where a silent look between them betrayed a sense she felt similar. Of a rather stifled, stultified life; unlike Siobhán though, whose response was simply to leave the island, Colm's depression and existential disquiet made him take a more destructive, selfish approach.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120354197#Comment_120354197

I felt like Colm was a look into Siobhán's future. She recognised in him that need to do something more, and she saw that it would never happen on the island, so she left while she still could.

saabsaab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120352852#Comment_120352852

Perhaps there will be a sequel or even a prequel?

Did you smash it

I think to a large extent whether you like the movie or not depends on whether you believe in the story of a a man chopping his own fingers off for a stupid reason. personally that wasn’t going to work for me no matter what else happened.

MattressRick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120354519#Comment_120354519

A man too whos only interest in life was to write meaningful music, but he cuts his fingers off before it's finished! WTF.

sporina

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120354554#Comment_120354554

no he did finish the piece.. had a celebratory dance with his dog

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120354519#Comment_120354519

Welcome to absurdist comedy

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

People never heard of the concept of self harm? Sure it's the least subtle imagining of it, but that's how I read it. Again it's a case of McD trying to broach a few too many things in the one film and not quite managing to nail any of them.

Did you smash it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120354737#Comment_120354737

I’ve heard of the concept of self harm. The concept of cutting your own fingers off because someone can’t stop talking to you didn’t personally make me think about self harm.

would you say what I said is true? That whether you liked or disliked the movie could really come down to could you go along with the idea of a man chopping his own fingers off for a dumb reason and not think it stupid?

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120354925#Comment_120354925

No, I don't think it could, it would be far too simplistic. I didn't like it because there wasn't enough time spent on any of the many questions McDonagh threw in.

Did you smash it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120354657#Comment_120354657

The absurdist comedy I like would range from ace Ventura to the big Lebowski because I thought they were both hilarious.

other absurdist comedy like Get Out and This didn’t do much for me as I didn’t find them funny…I preferred this to Get Out at least.

Man Vs ManUre

This film could have had a better final third, it should have gone bat sh1t crazy instead of its mild conclusion. It should have been the sister dying from tripping over the fingers or something, instead of Jenny, and in parallel to Padraig doing a bloody and violent revenge on Colm there would be the scenes of Dominic killing the father before doing away with himself.

saabsaab

I wondered would there be a Liam MacGabhann moment when Jimmy Kimmel asked Colin Farrell that question!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120354925#Comment_120354925

The man harming himself didn't make you think of self harm? I don't know what to tell you.

I don't agree with you, for what it's worth. I didn't particularly love the film, but it had nothing to do with me buying a man chopping off his own fingers.

Did you smash it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355025#Comment_120355025

I didn’t care, the movie didn’t make me think about anything really. It was well made and well acted. But I didn’t feel sympathetic to any of the characters or even the donkey. Now I look back and think a lad cutting off his fingers to stop another lad talking to him is basically just stupid in my opinion.

Aftersun on the other hand was a film where I could instantly relate to the characters and become deeply invested in them. That’s pretty much all you need from a movie in my opinion: to care about the characters. Once you have that, you have a film worth seeing.

sporina

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120354519#Comment_120354519

for me the chopping off of the fingers served 2 purposes; 1. as a way to exert control over Padraic and 2. "tortured artist" technique.. more pain - more creativity.. and a way to vent his own frustrations.. the energy with which he then used to create his music piece..

but make of it what you will - Martin's work is never x+y = z

The DayDream

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355020#Comment_120355020

That's why you're not a scriptwriter. Those ideas are crap especially the first one. She trips over the fingers and dies? Yeah that's brilliant.

buried

The whole thing is a brilliant take on rural Ireland. Past and Present. It was never going to win any award ceremony judged by a bunch of gadges from the hills of Hollywood. The fact it didn't win any oscar only solidifies it's brilliance.

saabsaab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355269#Comment_120355269

That's a bit harsh.

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355249#Comment_120355249

My own interpretation of the fingers was nearly the opposite of your point 2 - that the thing causing him all this angst and, as the film calls it, 'despair', is the pressure he puts on himself to create. That his own knowledge of his potential, and his expectation of himself to leave something great behind, is basically removing the possibility of just being happy. So he creates a situation whereby he's "forced" into losing the ability to create new work. Basically self-sabotage, and as convoluted and nonsensical as it may be, it's a way he can justify to himself to just live in the moment without that continuous pressure. It's kind of backed up by him saying he actually feels relived after he loses the fingers.

I think a lot of artists can relate to this feeling, of gnawing guilt whenever you're not actively producing something, so instead of being happy when you make something, you're just staving off the guilt for a while - but like an addiction it always comes back again (unless you cut your fingers off!).

That's what I liked about the movie though, that it kinda stuck with you and noodled around in your mind to unpick an explanation that makes sense to you.

sporina

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355368#Comment_120355368

yeah - but he did create his music piece.. but yeah... with no fingers - there was no pressure to create anymore.. good elaboration

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355310#Comment_120355310

The "gadges from the hills of Hollywood" are the ones who nominated it for so many awards in the first place. The fact it didn't win anything only solidifies the fact that other people got more votes when it was narrowed down to 5(10for BP) options.

The nonsense in this thread since last night is hilarious. Banshees is somehow both a load of overhyped by RTÉ rubbish AND too good to be recognised for its brilliance by the Hollywood elite. Some achievement.

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355388#Comment_120355388

Yeah, I felt like it was almost as though he saw that music piece as his creative full-stop, so it was after that was finished that he escalated his threat from "i'll cut them off one by one", to just cutting all the remaining ones off at once. So he got to make his thing, and then removed the possibility - and pressure - of having to make another. Like some sort of 'creative suicide', physically closing a chapter in his life.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355390#Comment_120355390

I don't know if you haven't noticed Elmo, but considering the current pathetic output the gadges from the hills of Hollywood are throwing out themselves, there is hardly f**k all output for them to nominate anything from their own houses, hence a German and Asian based film win the most prolific awards.

Banshees of Inisherin is a bone fide look at continuous 20th/21st century modern indigenous Irish culture. And it does it spectacularly. If you have to live here, you will get it, you won't need to be told it.

Beechwoodspark

Banshees is modern paddy whackery served up by an Englishman who thinks he is a wetherspoons Beckett.

Despite all the crazy ott hype - the film is absolute rubbish

CalamariFritti

I suppose the story isn't credible in so many ways unless you assume they're all half mad and thats the way it was.

I mean if you wanted to do more with your life you could just tell your mate 'look let's keep the pub and the mindless talk to the weekends, I want to do other things too'. You wouldn't actually blank him for the rest of your life. And cut your fingers off if he doesn't go with that.

So the story just isn't on a reality level at all, I think we can all accept that.

And after that you either accept this as you would accept crazy stuff reading Greek mythology or an absurd play and you go with that and find something in that film that interests you. Go looking for metaphors or whatever. Or just appreciate the acting or the surreality or the cinematography or whatever.

Or else you say this is not for me and possibly 'wtf'.

I think when we're talking about a wide audience it was always mostly going to be the latter and I would include myself in that.

tobefrank321

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355483#Comment_120355483

Bone fides look at Irish culture? So we all go to the pub at 2pm and spend the day there? We have no jobs but have money to spend in the pub? People living in the heart of the gaeltacht, but no Irish between them. Say feckin in every sentence? Don't understand the background to the civil war. I could go on. Its just inaccurate on almost every count written by a man who seems to know little or nothing factual about Ireland.

Its just Paddy Whackery and high time McDonagh was called out on it. Its no different to the SNL sketch.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355483#Comment_120355483

"Asian based"?

EEAAO is set in America. Your choice of wording is saying a lot about you, so I'll just leave you to it.

nagel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355612#Comment_120355612

Had the same view as yourself, another inaccuracy i notices was Padraic feeding continental type cattle, they did not arrive into Ireland until the 60's

Man Vs ManUre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120355269#Comment_120355269

Well I only came up with the exact manner of the sisters death as I was writing the post, but it would be something to do with Colm or the chopped off fingers. My ending would have been a million times better than the crappy ending McDonagh made. When I win an Oscar for best original screenplay I will remember you in my speech!!