Kings

It is possible that the major narrative of the twenty-first century will be that of immigration. With transnational movement becoming ever more common, the distances between us shrink both geographically and socially as every immigrant has a compelling individual story to share. Kings is the fertile ground where six of these stories take root, grow and intertwine. It is the first major bilingual (Irish Gaelic and English) Irish production.

In the seventies, six ambitious and energetic young men – friends and relatives – left Ireland for London with an eye to making their fortunes and eventually returning home in a blaze of glory. Like so many before them, they found work in the construction industry, toiling to build the very cities that often remained cold and unwelcoming to them. When we meet the men, it is nearly thirty years after their arrival, and one of them has died under terrible circumstances.

It is a deeply held tradition that they hold a wake for the passing of their friend, named Jackie. What makes this occasion even more tearful is that the friends haven't followed the path they originally had set out for themselves. They have not enjoyed the same fortunes or even returned to Ireland victoriously as planned. When they finally meet to honour Jackie, drink and sadness make it inevitable that some men will take up the grievances and disappointments of the past, all the while maintaining the illusion that they have a future. In tragic situations like these, nostalgia is particularly far from the cold, hard truth.

In addition to sketching a fine sense of place, director Tom Collins elicits remarkable performances from each member of his strong cast, particularly the great Colm Meaney as Joe, a man who left behind his old Irish life for good, but at a heavy cost. These skillful actors capture all the complex and heart-rending subtleties of the immigrant experience. Through the bonds and misfires of male friendship, Kings sympathetically portrays a circle who never actually leave their homeland in either custom or commitment.

Jane Schoettle

this is the only good honest film about irish culture i've seen .

the story is slow moving but very good (unless you need an action thriller to keep you awake).

i watched it last night and when i was coming out of the theatre one of the actors was strolling along beside me, chatting to his friends. UNREAL how often does that happen.

it's kind of like watching ros na run but with a proper story and actors.

overall its well worth a watch .even if its just to see what gaeilge sounds like on the big screen.

loved the part with the rebel tunes.

A beautifully-made film, "Kings" is one of the best movies of this year. The hand-held camera gives it an intimacy too often absent in close-up cinematic portraiture, and allows the viewer a real look at the shocking sadness of the lives of its subjects. Of a group of five friends who leave the west of Ireland in their teens in the late 1970s, Jackie is the first to die. Herein begins a long journey into oblivion for his four friends, all of them living lives very different from what was envisaged at the start of their English odyssey. What "Kings" does, more than anything, is take a long look at the generations of lost Irish in London, those who left Ireland on the boat to work on the building sites and to clean houses, and the sad waste of the loss of potential to the devils of booze. The films stays away from nostaglia or sentiment, and in doing so it creates for the viewer a real picture of how it was for all the thousands of immigrants, most of whom never saw home again.

Saw this at the Stony Brook Film Festival last night and was amazed to find (a) a nearly full house and (b) the audience got it. As an Irishman who lived in London in the 1960's I am well aware of the characters and their sad, difficult lives. (The years were a bit off as the film claimed they emigrated in 1977 - more like 10 years earlier). I had also seen the play it was based on "The Kings of the Kilburn High Road" a few years back. The play, if I recall correctly, is set entirely in the back room of the bar. The acting is first rate and while most of the dialogue is in Irish, with subtitles, it really works. This was a strange experience, to see a film about Irishmen and needing subtitles to understand everything being said. Not surprisingly, Colm Meaney lends heft to the film and the part of Joe. He always does. Well worth seeing although I wonder who the audience is for such a film? There are thousands of Irishmen still in England who lived lives like these poor unfortunates.

This contains the best acting I have seen in an Irish film in many years. It is a reworking of a play, and the adaptation preserves all the intensity and intimacy which is usual within a theatre production. It is a dark, brooding and menacing work which does not belong in the category of light entertainment, but rather, a higher art. If you are prepared to go on the journey, you will find it has rewards. But be warned that there is no compromise here to easy access for English only speakers - it is predominantly in Irish with English subtitles. If you like the theatre, you should find this a real treat. Forget Hollywood, or indeed Fair City, this contains the best ensemble acting by an Irish cast since the best of the Roddy Doyle films.