Exiled

Story of a Irish cousin who travels to live with his brother in Ireland "33rd county" Sunnyside in Queen's NY and gets involved in nefarious IRA business.

I saw this in a packed house at the Dublin Film Festival, with an appreciative home crowd and despite my bias, it fully deserves all 8 of the stars I've given it.

There is a vibrancy in the language that is usually lacking in most movies these days with people enjoying words and using them interestingly. But unlike most "European" films, they serve to propel the plot along, and don't sit up to be admired alone.

The plot itself is compelling but a bit thin to sustain 90 minutes. An obvious lack of budget presumably meant that there wasn't much chance of introducing many more plot elements and the film swings between about 5 locations in total. However the film makes up for this with some interesting insights into young Irish in America - how they live, how they got there etc. The film develops a nice sense of place, a little like Mean Streets and its accuracy in the depiction of how its characters lived and also the South/North conflict in perception on the troubles in Northern Ireland.

The acting is good, the plot adequate, the script excellent, there is a power house last half-hour, and an excellent ending. Don't know how you are going to see this film, but if it does crop up on cable or in the video store or at a festival near you, I recommend you sit down and learn something about a conflict you might think you understand, but more than that you should enjoy a right good thriller.