A film about Irish immigrants to modern NYC? You can well imagine why I wanted to go see this one. It did bother me a lot that they crossed the Canadian border illegally. The whole time I was cheering them on and hoping for their final success in this great country, in the back of my head I kept hearing a little voice say, “Lawbreakers!” That just goes to show I’m not a hypocrite on immigration, even if they are Irish. Naturally, I blame the Canadians who obviously have no immigration controls whatsoever.
That aside, I left this film with tears in my eyes. As I have said many times before, there are few who can craft such beautiful love letters to this country as can immigrants. I wish I knew musical terms to express what I’m thinking. Basically you had the lead guitar playing a theme of love and death while underneath, the constant bassline was this little ode of admiration and love for the United States.
It is, I think, a typical Irish film. There’s hardship and loss, death as a constant companion but underneath it all the bonds of family and affection that makes it possible to get along despite it all.
I’d recommend seeing it, if only for the scene where you can actually see one soul leaving the Earth while another enters. Freaking amazing. And don’t miss Osama’s cameo, I laughed out loud.
Yep, had to update the Best Movies of 2003 list again. Wonder when we’ll get to see some films made in 2004?