Watching the Green: 11 Movies for St. Patrick's Day
by EG
After you've had your corned beef and cabbage and pint of Guinness, the best way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day is to watch a good Irish movie. Many of these movies aren't authentically Irish, but neither are the majority of our St. Patty's Day traditions. The important thing is that they feel Irish.
It's Just a Fantasy
What's Ireland without its fantastic stories? "The Secret of Roan Inish" (1994) is a fable about a selkie—sort of an Irish mermaid—and the man who loves her. It was directed by John Sayles, and its visually appealing depiction of the Irish coast drew rave reviews.
"Leprechaun" (1993) isn't an authentically Irish film, and it's not even an authentic telling of the legend of the leprechaun. But it's about a leprechaun, so it must be worth watching on St. Patrick's Day, right?
Romantic Ireland
"Once" (2007) attracted attention for its music—the song "Falling Slowly" won an Oscar, and a stage musical version of the story was a hit on Broadway—but it's a distinctly Irish movie, too. Star Glen Hansard's busking on the touristy streets of Dublin shows the city in a refreshingly unstereotypical light, and the story's romance is pitch-perfect in its understatement. And the music is great, as well.
Long before "Once," Minnie Driver and Chris O'Donnell starred in an Irish romance called "Circle of Friends" (1995). No breath-taking soundtrack in this one, but it's charming nonetheless.
Here Come the Irish
When can a movie about the Norwegian coach of an American football team at a university with a French name be considered a St. Patrick's Day movie? When the school in question is the University of Notre Dame, the home of the Fighting Irish, that's when. "Knute Rockne, All American" (1940) features Pat O'Brien as the legendary coach and Ronald Reagan as George "Gipper" Gipp, one of Rockne's star players.
And as long as we're including Fighting Irish football fables on the list, we shouldn't miss "Rudy" (1993), a feel-good story with Sean Astin as a Notre Dame football legend of decidedly smaller stature.
Remember The Troubles
It's hard to think of Ireland and overlook the late 20th-century conflict in the north, the infamous Troubles. "In the Name of the Father" (1993) features Daniel Day-Lewis as a man falsely convicted of a deadly pub bombing, and "Bloody Sunday" (2002) is director Paul Greengrass' dramatization of a 1972 massacre of protestors by British troops.
Trouble Abroad, Too
In Jim Sheridan's "In America," an Irish immigrant family struggles to survive in 1980s New York City. It's a grim but exceptionally well crafted film.
The Lighter Side
If you've had enough trouble, you might want to find an Irish comedy instead. Try "The Commitments" (1991), Alan Parker's adaptation of the Roddy Doyle novel about an R&B band trying to make its way out of working-class Dublin.
"Waking Ned Devine" (1998) is a comedy about a dead man and his winning lottery ticket. Its writer/director is English, and it was filmed on the Isle of Man, but it's supposed to be set in Ireland; if you're not picky, that's close enough.