The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Set in Ireland in 1920, during the country's struggle for independence from Britain, the film follows Damien O'Donovan, a young doctor on the verge of leaving for a hospital post in London. After witnessing a killing at a friend's farm, he abandons that planned career and joins his brother Teddy in the fight against the British forces. The brothers take part in the armed campaign for Irish freedom, but the political settlement that follows the fighting divides the movement, and the two men end up on opposite sides of a new conflict.

Ken Loach directed the film, working from a screenplay by Paul Laverty, with Rebecca O'Brien, Gerardo Herrero and Redmond Morris producing. It came twelfth in chronological order among the twenty features Loach directed, following Tickets and preceding To Each His Own Cinema. Cillian Murphy plays Damien, Pádraic Delaney plays Teddy, and Liam Cunningham and Orla Fitzgerald are among the supporting cast. The production involved companies and funding from Ireland, the United Kingdom and several other European countries.

Made for about 7 million dollars, the film took roughly 23 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.5 out of 10 from around 58,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.3 from 930 votes. A critics' rating of 8 out of 10 from 116 reviews places it above both audience scores.