Children's Movie
As part of our St Patrick's Day celebrations, we are showing a film for our younger members and friends.
Come to the Crowne Plaza on Wednesday 15 March at 6pm and enjoy
Into the West
Review and picture from Amazon.com
Set mainly in the Ireland the tourist board didn't tell you about, Into the West is the story of a "traveling" family who have given up their traditional life of roaming, and find themselves trying to make it in the gritty, violent projects of Dublin. Gabriel Byrne is excellent as Papa Reilly, a once-proud father and leader whose grief over his wife's death has turned him into a booze-sodden has-been. His two sons, Tito (Ruaidhri Conroy) and Ossie (Ciaran Fitzgerald), escape the projects on an apparently magical white horse, Tir Na Nog, which leads them back to the West. After being forced to steal the horse back from a wealthy and ruthless horse dealer, they are pursued across the increasingly beautiful landscape by virtually all the policemen in Ireland. The much-loved actor David Kelly (Waking Ned Devine) does a nice turn as the grandfather, and Ellen Barkin is a surprising but believable choice as an old "traveling" friend of Papa Reilly. For better or for worse--mainly better--this is not the story Disney would have told: redemptive and uplifting at the end, it's realistic to the point of ugliness on the way there, with a style of cinematography that the Magic Kingdom has never been able to stomach. The younger brother, Ossie, is supposed to be 7, but the story itself is perhaps more appropriate for somewhat older children. Entertainment Weekly's best family video for 1994. --Richard Farr
Another review, from James Berardinelli
Into the West has its heart in the right place, even if frequently defies logic. The movie is not as endearing as Newell's previous film, Enchanted April, nor is it as poignant as screenwriter Jim Sheridan's My Left Foot, but it has its moments, and is definitely suitable for all but the youngest children. Like The Secret Garden, it has moments to captivate adults as well as their smaller counterparts.
For other St Patrick's week events,
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