JIMMY'S HALL 2014

 JIMMY'S HALL 2014

Ken Loach 

Jimmy’s Hall Is directed by Loach, written by Paul Laverty and produced by 

.Rebecca O'Brien for Sixteen Films

It is the most recent film for Ken Loach ,period- drama tells a true story of political charismatic Irish communist activist Jimmy Gralton, Who was deported after building a dance hall on a rural crossroad in Ireland. The film pictured the kind of conflict that took place between Ireland's post-civil war church and the free thinkers of Irish, who found in the hall a chance to life with free thinking and joy away from the church’s control and abused.  In 1921,the Irish leader, played by Barry Ward , set up the hall believing in people’s right to be given 

control over their life and to celebrate, song, and dance like a human beings. 

Jimmy Gralton's re-opened the Hall after he returned from a decade in New York on a rural crossroads. It holds different educational classes from drawing through boxing to dancing. It is palace where people could think, listen, talk, learn, argue ,dance and have fan . Jimmy’s hall faced a fierce resistance from the leaders of Ireland's post-civil war church. Although Jimmy ensure the priest that The hall will respect the reunion and conformity of the society, he called the people who involved in the hall’s activity anti-cross(atheists). He stated that the hall will destroy the natural way that Ireland must live under the unity of the church.

Peter Bradshaw in The guardian describes Jimmy’s Hall film ‘It is a watchable and thoughtful, if slightly pedagogic film, with some wonderful moments, presented with great clarity and seriousness, absolutely unflavoured by irony or cynicism’. 

He also adds ‘The movie is at its best when it simply expounds an idealism, with its own distinctive frankness. There is a wonderful sequence in which people just sit in a circle in Jimmy's hall for a sort of practical criticism session: they discuss WB Yeats's poem The Song of the Wandering Aengus, and talk about what it means to them. I could watch simple, thoughtful scenes like this for hours on end’. (theguardian.com, Thursday 22 May 2014 

Read the review Here

In the film review of David Sexton in London Evening standard, he says ‘Loach has made a sumptuous period piece, beautifully photographed by Robbie Ryan, using many local people in the crowd scenes, wearing wonderful tweeds, slipovers and wrap dresses, riding on antique bikes and in donkey-drawn carts through the green hills and boggy valleys, dancing merrily. It all looks great, a dream of Ireland before the blissful bungalows. The characterful faces are a treat too, above all that of Jimmy’s aged mum (Aileen Henry, new to acting)’. 

(London Evening standard 22 May 2014 )

sexton's review here

Jimmy’ Hall 2014 -full movie