In Bruge is one of my favorite movies.
It’s a dark comedy that is both simultaneously hilarious and clever. The dialog is well-crafted and sharp, the characters are well-rounded and the acting is top-notch. The director of the film Martin Macdonald and the stars Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell are back with a new film called The Banshees of Inisherin.
The film might not be as funny as In Bruge or as rewatchable, but it is just as good. The film is so simple, yet it has layers upon layers of meaning while being rich on a thematic level. I had to take a long walk after the film, reflecting on everything I just saw. This is truly the hallmark of a great film.
Summary
The story is about two men living on the fictional island of Inisherin. They live in a very small community where there is nothing to do except going to the local pop.
The story follows two men the stupid, but kind man named Pádraic Súilleabháin played by Colin and the more thinking musician named Colm Doherty played by Brendan Gleeson.
One day Colm decides he doesn’t want anything to do with Pádraic and he ends the friendship. Not because he is mad or anything, he has simply had enough. This is where the story starts.
That’s it…. No seriously, that is kind of it. It’s a film where the premise sounds doll and incredibly boring and it might seem like not an awful lot is happening, especially at the beginning, but the film lays the groundwork early on, and the story unfolds masterfully over time.
Colm gets so frustrated that he threatens to cut off his own fingers if Pádraic keeps talking to him. A threat he follows through with.
Analysis
See, It was not exactly true when I said nothing happened. Small stories at up and become this rich tapestry. The movie takes place on a fictional island called Inisherin. The film is filled with shots of Irish nature. The slow-moving camera and long shots further enhance the feeling of this being a very small, quiet, and isolated place.
Gunfire and canons can sometimes be heard from the mainland. This creates a contrast between the “real world” and Inisherin. Inisherin is not troubled by anyone else, they live in their own little piece of the world. Where a conflict between friends is the most noteworthy thing to happen.
Colm is getting old and he has woken up and realized that he doesn’t have infinite time on this earth. He has spent too much time in the pup drinking and talking to Pádraic. He feels this life has gotten away from him.
I think we have all felt that at some moment or another. When you think back to another time and realize how much time has passed from then til now. It is a scary prospect.
Colm can’t keep talking to Pádraic about boring stuff.
He would rather dedicate his life to making music, for music and art will stand the test of time, unlike any man. Halfway through the film, the two men have this exact argument. Colm claims that music, art, and poetry will stand the test of time. Pádraic thinks it is much more important to be a good person, and that being a nice person is the highest level one should aspire to.
Colm rebuttals saying that you can’t remember anyone from the 17th century because they were nice, but you remember Mozart. At the end of the argument, Pádraic’s sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon) correctes Colm by telling him that Mozart lived in the 18th century and not the 17th.
Later on, Siobhan and Colm talk about the situation. Colm only wants to talk to people who are smart and whom he respects. Siobhan is one of those people since she already corrected him on Motart. Throughout their conversation, it becomes clear that Colm is suffering from a Fear of death or Thanatophobia. (Thanatos being the greek god of death).
Terror Management Theory (TMT) is a theory exploring this exact thing. It says that humans are an animal that is primed to survive while simultaneously having the ability to contemplate their own demise. This contrast creates a state of terror.
People deal with this terror in different ways. Some people don’t think about death at all while other people try to create a legacy, something that will be here long after they are gone. Colm is the latter and Pádraic is the former.
Colm is trying to create a legacy. His fear of death has reshaped his whole existence.
I think most people can relate to Colm in some way or another, yet I think he misses some key things.
First of all, there is simply no way of securing that people will listen to your art after you are gone. It is true that most people know about Motaz, but how many know his music, how many go to a classic concert and listen to his works? A few indeed.
While most people know of Motaz few people know him as a man. The art he made and the man become both connected and separated over time.
Motaz is known for making music, his art stands alone and almost apart from him.
When we create something in the world we separate it from ourselves.
Thinking about death can be scary yet, contemplating death is not necessarily a bad thing and it can be a great help to prioritize and give you a new appreciation of life. The problem arises when it takes over your life and you feel powerless, unable to do anything, for what does it all matter in the end?
According to TMT, people who contemplate death are more likely to form ingroups and reject other people who don’t hold the same values as them. Under the fear of death, we fall back to a tribal tendency.
The funny thing is that Colm has no tripe. He is alone with his thoughts and fears, no one else is having the same thought as him. Siobhan is not thinking the same way he does and neither do the others on the island. Colm is thus alone and he decides to exclude Pádraic since he can’t include anyone else.
Is it better to be dump and happy, or smart and sad?
Studies show that having a higher IQ is associated with developing depression and anxiety.
The question the film raises is:
What is best? To be dumb and happy, or smart and sad.
Pádraic might be dumb, but he is a nice person and a good man.
Colm is smarter, but also anxious.
Is ignorance bliss? or is the act of accumulating knowledge more important despite the cost?
At one point Colm talks to a police officer who is going to the mainland to hang people who have committed crimes. He is not sure if it’s the IRA who is to be hanged or someone else. Colm is somewhat shocked about this statement asking how he can hang people even if they are innocent. The police officer says that for the money they give him, he would hang him.
This is important. For the person you are matters. How you act and treat people matters in the world. A whole branch of philosophy is dedicated to this exact thing namely ethics and more specifically virtue ethics. Sure you can have a lot of money, fame, and glory, but those things will disappear. After a funeral of a loved one, everybody talks about the kind of person he was and not how much money they made.
It’s hard being happy, especially in today’s world so many people are battling with depression and anxiety. I think a lot of it can be traced back to a fear of death. Knowing you have limited time on earth and at the same time the ability to compare yourself to everybody else. Is a cocktail of disaster.
Colm is comparing himself to Mozart, which is also a losing battle. Comparing yourself to anyone else is not a good way to be happy.
I think being happy and a little slow is preferred over being a smart asshole.
The Banshee, Religion, And Mythology
A banshee is a creature from Irish mythology that means “woman of the fairies”. The creature is a pale woman, with an unnaturally high scream. Legend has it that if you see a banshee or hear her scream it means that death is near and that you or someone close to you will die soon.
In the film, Colm works on his music and he calls his sonnet The Banshees of Inisherin. He says that he doesn’t have a good reason to call it that other than he likes how it sounds. Which to me seems like a valid reason, but let’s continue.
Colm talks about how he believes a banshee is different on the island than in myth. They are creatures sitting back in the dark and watching, Instead of them being a creature who makes themselves known. A silent symbol instead of a bombastic myth.
A mysterious woman appears throughout the film named Mrs. McCormick. The other characters try to avoid her, maybe because she is odd or because they sense something about her. She talks of death and is overall creepy as hell. When a death happens in the film she can be seen. Not in the foreground talking, but in the background, watching.
The film also deals with religion and it has a very clever critique of religion.
We are introduced to religion when the characters attend church. Colm goes to confession afterward. Colm confesses that he suffers from despair, which is also why he feels he has to make something that can live on after him. The funny thing is that despite him attending both church and confession it doesn’t seem to help at all. It feels more like the church is only for show. It does not provide any guidance or ease of mind.
At one point the local police officer (who is violent toward both his son and Pádraic) starts talking shit to Pádraic. Colm knocks him out and the priest says afterward that hitting a policeman is one of the greatest sins one can do. Colm is rightfully puzzled by this statement. It all adds to this feeling of the church providing little to Colm. At one point the priest is furious with Colm because he indicated that he likes men.
Colm also says to the priest that he doesn’t think Pride is a sin which is ironic for it is precisely because he is so prideful that he ends up with no fingers at the end and in turn no way to play music.
Pádraic is also pushed to the edge. After his sister leaves and his donkey dies he decides to burn Colm’s house down. This shows that even Pádraic can be pushed to do something bad despite him being the nicest person in the film.
Conclusion
The film is a masterful example of subtle storytelling. A film that weaves complex characters and themes together in the most beautiful way.
There are so many things to say about the film that I didn’t include. I didn’t include Barry Keoghan’s amazing performance as Dominic along with the complicated relationship he has with his father. I could also have talked a lot more about the idea of a small community.
As a person who has been jaded by the overall quality of films coming out today, this film has given me hope that good art can still be made. In that way, a film about hopelessness was exactly what I needed to feel hope for the future.