English press attacks Ken Loach

English press isn't mincing words: according to them, Ken Loach's «The Wind that Shakes the Barley» is an an anti-British film that incites terrorism. The director has countered that his movie is based on real events.

Ken Loach's return to England after winning the Golden Palm at Cannes for «The Wind that Shakes the Barley» was not particularly happy: the English press has accused him of making an anti-British film that incites terrorism. The movie deals with the English occupation of Ireland in the 1920's and the subsequent independence of the Republic of Ireland. The press are outraged by his take on the Troubles, with The Sun calling his version the «most pro-IRA film ever» and the Daily Mail stating it encourages «direct comparisons between the Ireland of 1920-22 and present-day Iraq. This, of course, requires the portrayal of the British as sadists and the Irish as romantic, idealistic resistance fighters.» In defending his position on the BBC Breakfast show, Loach gave them more fodder for future attacks, calling their allegations «nonsense», but comparing the Irish to «the French Resistance and the Partisans in Italy.»