upon taking a seat at the theater , and surveying the crowd , i soon realized that i was the only person under forty in the premises .
i’m twenty-two , but have been accused of looking sixteen .
yet as the film began , any consciousness of setting shifted to the home of five close-knit , yet troubled sisters .
director pat o’connor ( inventing the abbots , circle of friends ) weaves a quiet yet affecting tale of loss , need , and the bonds between five sisters .
the family is ruled by kate ( meryl streep ) , an unconsciously strict schoolteacher , who is completely conscious of the deterioration of her family .
there is very little background given to the viewer , as we are thrust into a tense but loving home .
squabbles take place one after the other , caused by years and years of history .
perhaps one of the best things about this film , is its naturalness .
no situation is over-wrought , and characters react as real people do , to real problems .
this probably is a result of the film being from a stage play .
the play was in turn is based on a time in the life of the playwright .
what seems to be an underlying theme are the pagan rituals and dances of peoples , both in lughnasa and africa .
in fact , dance seems to be the glue that holds the family together and most expressively shows their closeness .
legs tap , and bodies sway even in the midst of impending disaster .
only after the music stops , and the characters stand breathing heavily do we sense any trouble .
in the quiet after the music we muse that it’s sad that music has to cease , and families falter .
the movie is framed by a scene of michael mundy , the narrator of the movie , as a young child flying a kite .
he trips over a bump and loses hold of his string , and the kite floats off farther into the distance .
drawn on the white diamond of the kite is a face that looks at once pained , and at another glance mischievous .
the mundy family itself follows a similar fate to that of the kite , and kate’s hold of the family isn’t strong enough to hold off the winds of change .
as michael stands , staring at his kite fly away , we hear the adult michael , looking back at the season that his world changed forever .
the movie is not overpowering , but it gives us a beautiful window into the life , love , and trouble of a household of lonely women .
note : this is the first movie review i’ve ever written , any responses on it would be greatly appreciated .
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