The Secret of Roan Inish

The magic of folklore forms the basis of this Irish tale by writer-director John Sayles. Adapted from the book Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry, the 1940s story is told from the point-of-view of Fiona (Jeni Courtney), a young girl sent to live with her grandparents in an Irish fishing town. Her ...more

John Sayles' flexibility has always been one of his most underrated strengths. His ability to create with great detail the workings of communities, by now something of a trademark, is the sort of skill that translates to a wider variety of projects and just as many settings. Here Sayles chooses a small Irish community, allowing the details of it to unfold as his protagonist, a child and an outsider, discovers them for herself. Sayles' lack of sentimentality serves him well in dealing with the ...more