That They May Face the Rising Sun

A beautiful portrait of the loneliness and isolation in countryside living, and finding the small joys in the monotony of the everyday. The random assortment of world-weary locals constantly dropping by Joe and Kate's home perfectly encapsulates the people for whom life has passed them by, and who come and go from the world leaving little trace.

It's also a tale of living with the hand you're dealt and the choices you make along the way. It's easy to envy the success of others when you don't have much to your name, or live in the past when times were better, but finding serenity in what you do have is the real key to life.

Sometimes all you have in the world is the people around you; sometimes they're all you need.

Joe, (Barry Ward), and Kate, (Anna Bederke), have returned from London to rural Ireland. He writes, perhaps a novel, perhaps not, while she sketches and makes little decorative pieces from twigs and bits of wood. The rest of the time they simply try to manage the small farm holding on which they live, mostly with the help of kindly neighbors. The seasons pass and nothing out of the ordinary happens; one neighbor marries and another dies and we simply observe the small details that make up these people's lives.

Based on John McGahern's novel, Pat Collins' really quite extraordinary and quite extraordinarily moving film "That They May Face the Rising Sun" could best be described as Ireland's answer to the films of Ermanno Olmi or maybe the Taviani Brothers. Gorgeously shot on location in County Galway this is one of the greatest of films about rural life and the day-to-day existence of people who have nothing and yet who want for nothing.

Director Collins is fundamentally a documentary film-maker and he brings a documentarian's eye to bear on proceedings here drawing extraordinarily naturalistic performances from his cast. Veteran Irish actors like Sean McGinley, Lalor Roddy, Ruth McCabe and Brendan Conroy are doing perhaps their best work here and it's hard to believe that Phillip Dolan as one kindly neighbor has never acted in a film before. Leads Barry Ward and Anna Bederke are also superb in their quietude and their empathy, outsiders who nevertheless feel like the backbone of their community, magnets drawing others to them for help or just for a listening ear. A masterpiece that simply has to be seen.

The pace is slow and many scenes come back to the same road but it is a seamless wonder portraying both genuine difficulties in life and a serenity of the seasons and lifestyle that melts together. I enjoyed the array of characters, each with a story and edge. It was somber but not depressing and the use of closeups and distant landscapes worked to keep a slow pace moving. The only negatives was the sound...maybe in the cinema it wasn't adjusted to the right volume but also the piano wasn't always appropriate. Also maybe the couple were just too perfect but that had an inspiring positive side too. It is a very good film and a quality few films reach.

Watch this movie and be at peace with a different rhythm of life from a time and place that is gone. Some of it with good riddance and some with a beautiful longing attached. The people are all from my childhood in one way or another and the vivid and stirring performances moved me greatly.

The unabated fury, the humdrum quiet, the occasional out of place remark, the gentle mockery of the hypocrites - this is a stunning insight into rural life at the time of my childhood. I am grateful to see it now as an adult and grasp the subtleties that were beyond me then.

If you cannot marvel at their splendor and that of the scenery that remains in the west of Ireland, then plan a visit to see the modern day version. Spoiler alert : it's the same only different.

This is an exceptional movie. The slow pace of life brings your heartbeat down, it takes you to places in way that other movies cannot. I really enjoyed the character development and the moments of joy and sadness. It's a true beauty, watch it.

This is an exceptional movie. The slow pace of life brings your heartbeat down, it takes you to places in way that other movies cannot. I really enjoyed the character development and the moments of joy and sadness. It's a true beauty, watch it.

This is an exceptional movie. The slow pace of life brings your heartbeat down, it takes you to places in way that other movies cannot. I really enjoyed the character development and the moments of joy and sadness. It's a true beauty, watch it.