One hundred mornings, just a good film

Really enjoyed One Hundred Mornings at the weekend. What I liked about it more than anything was that it was a really good Irish made movie set in Ireland with Irish Elements (such as An Gardai) but it wasn’t an Irish film, it was just a really good film. A good proper serious film. I’m sick of Irish films that rely on people saying feck a lot. Yes we’re Irish, get over it.

The question actually came up in a Q&A at the end. Some bore who was more interested in his own question than any answer asked “Given that the movie was thematically Joycean, what do you feel made it Irish, considering how vidsually Nordic it is?“. Well, it was a more pompous, and much longer question than that. But the answer from director Conor Horgan was what I was already thinking. He didn’t make an Irish film, he just made a film.

Coincidental timing with many other films out at the moment, the basic premise of One Hundred mornings is survival in a post-apocalyptic civilization. Though the struggle is less about the practicalities of surviving, and more about the relationship between four of the survivors. Beautifully shot in Wicklow, with authentic performances from the whole cast, the overall effect was one of subded and moody suspense. And a film that’s brave enough to get you thinking rather than do all the thinking for you.

Unfortunately, while Donald Clarke cries for an end to Begorah movies, One Hundred Mornings doesn’t even have a general release yet. It’s on again today but not sure when you can see it after that.I’m sure it’ll have a proper release very soon though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnU9R53CXsc&feature=player_embedded

6 Comments
  • Reply dave anderson

    February 23, 2010, 10:59 am

    That’s an uncomfortably relevant film… I wish they didn’t have the “coming soon” at the end of the trailer!

  • Reply Andrew

    February 26, 2010, 11:55 am

    That ‘Joycean’ guy was something else, wasn’t he? You’re right about the movie, I reland was simply the location, it was a universal story. And when I think of my favourite non-Hollywood films, like Oldboy, Let the Right One In and City of God, I realise that they are simply good stories told well. The nationality of the piece is secondary, as it should be.

  • Reply Fiona

    February 26, 2010, 1:58 pm

    Agreed. Cracking film, beautifully shot, universal story but very firmly located in this bleak Irish landscape. As you said, great to see that they didn’t keep pointing up their Irishness. I didn’t even see a pint of Guinness throughout. Shocking!

  • Reply Rosie

    March 1, 2010, 1:15 pm

    Funny, I thought it was a very Irish film, in spite of (or more likely thanks to) Conor’s aim to “just make a film”. It was subtle though, Irish in tone and character rather than reliant on clichéd cultural signifiers. Set four stranded Swedes there in the wake of an ESB strike and you’d have an entirely different film.

  • Reply John

    March 4, 2010, 12:30 am

    Hi Guys

    Yeah it was Irish alright, just wasn’t forced down our throats. And I’ve nothing particularly against a film that’s a tribute to a place (Step up Woody Allen). There’s just something about nearly every Irish film trying to be too Irish that was starting to get on my wick. And doesn’t Zonad look great!?

Write a comment to John Cancel Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.