The spirits of the island movie
Oscar 2023, “The spirits of the island” tells the humanity (and inhumanity) of wars
McDonagh he is now consecrated among the most brilliant living directors. With his past films (from the recent “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” to the more dated “In Bruges”) he had already given us strong and clear signals. Now with his last “The spirits of the Island” takes another leap forward with a film that transcends many classifications. Against the background of Irish Civil War (we are in 1923) which acts as a soundtrack (only the sounds of weapons can be heard), the surreal and fantastic events unfold in a small rural village on a remote island (which does not exist) where a microcosm condenses of humanity and inhumanity.
Oscar 2023, the plot of the candidate “The spirits of the Island”
It all revolves around the story of two friends That suddenly I’m not anymore for no apparent reason (just as the Irish suddenly found themselves on opposite sides in the civil war), everything seems inexplicable, the characters who take turns next to former friends are prototypes of the degeneration of human beings with ironic and bitter traits, sometimes absurd and grotesque, which distinguish them. There are moments of very high intensity, as in a dialogue about “what remains of us”, that is nothing (not even kindness) if not the immortal art, for example of music; then there are apparently inexplicable moments such as in the symbology of self-flagellation; There are dialogues sharp full of allegory and imbued with sadness; there are the obsessive presences animals that represent the abysmal distance from conformity on the one hand and the primordial spirits on the other; there is violence that does not find a rationale, in the same way as war, and mocking irony (sides of the same coin?).
Everything passeswar, envy, a pint in the pub (which in the film represents the sublimation of life), but what will remain beyond nothing? This investigates McDonagh, and he does it with this authentic big shot through a theatrical script, with perfectly sculpted actors, delightful photography, with the right slowness because everything runs fast and the director seems to want to curb our irreversible path towards death. Film not to be missed, not easy to assimilate, where you laugh bitterly and reflect a lot, but isn’t it that – after all – that great genius McDonagh has made fun of us by presenting us with a comedy of the absurd? If so, he’d be a genius twice over. Obviously for us this film should win the Oscar without ifs and buts.
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