Ireland’s Rural Beauty: Must-See Movie Review – That They May Face The Rising Sun

Must-See Movie Review: That They Should Face The Rising Sun – Beauty In Ordinary, Everyday Close To Nature Life 

View the trailer here

This film is made by Juno Films and is based on a book by John McGahern. This story is like a year in the life of a newly minted farmer. A couple moves to Ireland from London, but the gentleman is originally from the small rural town to which they move, while his wife is an artist who lived in London prior to the move. He had been away from his hometown for a while, but it’s clear he knows everyone and they all know him.

This is a quiet, beautiful film about the everyday ordinariness of living in a rural environment. There are birds chirping, streams rushing, animals grazing, wind rustling the trees. At the same time, there is hay to be gathered and fed to the animals, there are sheep to be brought to the shearer to be shorn, there are weddings to attend. There is birth and death, both in nature and in human life. There are early morning risings and afternoon meals.

This movie centers a lot on human relationships and in the ever present sights and sounds of the natural world. Whenever someone comes for a visit, whether it’s Johnny or Patrick or any of their other close-ish neighbors (miles away from one another by dirt roads), they’re always served a meal. Whether they come at breakfast time, lunch, or dinner, there is always a meal to be shared.

This film really transports you to the old country of what Ireland used to be. Presumably it is not this way anymore, but at the time of the film (~1979), it was still primarily an agrarian type of society. People were really in one another’s lives to a large extent, even though they lived far from each other.

This is also a love story, but not in the usual sense. It’s the quiet kind of love story that’s already been told (they’ve been married a long while when the movie begins), and the couple on whom the film centers has a deeply meaningful relationship, even though they also both value their time alone and with others. It’s a snapshot of the kind of life that isn’t lived anymore. Most of the farms in the US are not in such rural areas, and there is always the ever present threat that the farm won’t produce enough, and that the next generations may not want to continue the farmer’s life.

By 1979 in the US, rural farms were already disappearing across the nation, so most people alive today or even in the last generation or two did not have this type of farm experience. Modern farm machines, chemicals, and harvesting methods have dominated since before that time. But Ireland was, at least up until this time, untouched by that. It had likely looked the same as centuries past, but this is also when things began to change there, following the patterns of modern heavy industrial Agriculture with all of the benefits and pitfalls that brought.

This film is very touching, and is a rare glimpse into a forgotten world. It’s beautiful and enriching to watch, and it’s a rare gem. One doesn’t see films like this anymore, so it’s certainly a refreshing change from the ordinary (while being deeply focused on the ordinary life of these individuals). The love the couple feels for one another and their friends is obvious and heartwarming. People truly treat others with kindness and caring in a way that has been neglected in the modern world.

The film’s quietness and solitude make it all the more appealing. It’s easy to watch, the sounds are enchanting, and the story is quite lovely. I highly recommend this film, and would give it five stars.

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Banner Image: Movie promo.  Image Credit – Juno Films