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Jimmy's Hall, a New Film by Ken Loach
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The movie is a humble story and highly topical issue at this time of crisis. While in the former film, The Angels' Share, Ken Loach narrated a social issue in a comic way, in Jimmy's Hall he deals with historical and political subject again. And he does it with a light and playful tone.
James Gralton was an Irish communist leader who emigrated to America in 1909. At the height of the Great Depression, he came back to Ireland to fight in the Irish War of Independence, and in his hometown he opened a place where people could express themselves through art and politics. This event led him to a confrontation with the Catholic Church and the landowners of the county who repeatedly boycotted his project. In 1933, he was deported to the United States with the excuse that he was a foreigner.
Based on the time when Jimmy returns to Ireland, Loach constructs a story that could be a sequel to The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Whereas that movie talked about the struggle of an entire country for independence, Jimmy's story focuses on the demands of the inhabitants of a small town. His struggle is against an intolerant and repressive church, and in support of the poor farmers, victims of expropriation. Without wishing to delve into the Irish conflict, Loach focuses on the hope of the community to have a place where art, freedom, fun and the political debate are an important part of their lives. The daily scenes, its parties, laughter and dancing are precisely what gives more dynamism and freshness to the film
Surprisingly, this humble story shot in 35 mm (a system that Loach prefers to digital) is a highly topical issue at this time of crisis. It seems that nowadays all dissenting voices want to be silenced by a system that does not accept any criticism, as well as the Church and landowners at the film did.
Texts: Núria Farré. facebook@cinemaperaestudiants.cat
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