The Banshees of Inisherin, Symbolism Explained - A Parable of Real Conflict

this video is brought to you by mubi a curated streaming service dedicated to elevating great Cinema from around the globe get a whole month free at movie.com the take why do friendships break down and once a conflict starts can it ever really be over with its multiple severed fingers and dead pet donkey the Banshees of inner Sharon takes on these questions on both the personal and the political level Martin mcdonough's oscar-nominated award-winning Tale of Two Men falling out can be read equally as a parable for the Irish Civil War and as an unflinching accurate exploration of a friendship breakup it used to be nice that you never used to be maybe you never used to be after column decides suddenly that he doesn't want to be friends with parrick by the film's end events have snowballed until parrick has traded his signature niceness to live purely for spite while column's depressive search for meaning drives him to some very permanent acts like Ireland during its Civil War in the early 20s and in the Island's lasting conflicts to follow the two men become stuck in an endless cycle of wrongdoings that lead them down a path of no return here's our take on the hidden significance behind banshee's historical parallels how folklore plays a role in the film's tragic ending and what those fingers really mean maybe he just doesn't like you no more foreign beginning in 1922 the Irish Civil War arose after the country won independence from Britain in 1921. however divisions began to arise regarding the terms of the war-ending treaty Irish revolutionaries who once fought on the same side were now fighting against each other sound familiar this theme is clearly reflected in the film as column and parrick's once strong brotherly Bond evolves into hatred for seemingly no reason have you been rallied I don't think we've been around while most of the film centers on their conflict with each other there is one thing the men do agree on their hatred of the local cop powder Kearney viewed through the lens of Ireland's history powder serves as a symbolic stand-in for British forces the former friends still quietly come together in solidarity when threatened by patter but as the two get locked in a sequence of escalating opposition like the people of Ireland they've become two brothers senselessly pitted against each other causing irreversible damage like a war Paragon columns conflict leads to each party trying to one-up each other even when they have numerous chances to just choose peace when parrot drunkenly stands up for himself at the pub column is impressed by his honesty interesting it's ever been I think I like him again now but when Park hears this and goes to make amends call him still stubbornly follows through on his threat to cut his fingers off later when column gives in to meeting parrick at the pub parrick reveals he drove column's fellow Fiddler away which Spurs column to change course and cut off his remaining four fingers these moments prove that the initial cause for conflict actually doesn't always matter as much as what comes after the film is set away on a fictional island which closely resembles the real Aran islands and was partially filmed on one of them but directly translated inish Aaron means island of Ireland so we can read in ashiron as a metaphorical space meant to speak more generally and spiritually about the country's history and its people's experiences the film's Irish allegory extends further as each main character represents an archetype of the Irish identity parrick the nice guy with strong attachment to his local community call him the tortured artistic Soul Dominic the tragedy of Youth suicide in Ireland and Siobhan the Island's long history of talented individuals fleeing whether due to sectarian conflict or greater opportunities elsewhere banshees explores these recognizable identities thoroughly to ask us what truly underlies them you can't just all of a sudden stop being friends with a fella why can't I why can't you because it isn't nice herrick's whole idea of himself and his people centers around their niceness my daddy he was nice but this value is questioned throughout the film once parag is pushed by others not conforming to his rules of niceness it doesn't actually take much for parrot to feel justified in acting pretty mean well uh it was a bit mean I used to think you were the nicest of them turns out you're just the same as them soon his life is completely consumed by bitterness and after he loses his donkey Jenny and his sister Siobhan with no positive reason to stay on the island he still stays to feed his spite through this Ark the film dismantles the typical Irish nice guy indicating that purely living for niceness can actually be a negative thing leading people to deeply resent those who betray their kindness or don't live up to that framework I suppose niceness doesn't last then does a party meanwhile column's artistic soul is also an attractive aspect of Irish identity as we see him meditating on the nature of life and playing Tunes with fellow musicians in the pub music lasts newest and paintings last and poetry lasts but this self-image based on artistic creation is challenged in the film too through an examination of column's ego his desire to make meaningful art is in part a desire for his name to be remembered everyone to a man knows Mozart's name this mindset is self aggrandizing grandiose and over generalizing and his condescension toward parrick's dullness makes him so determined to prove he's different that he chops off his own fingers which in turn destroys his artistic ability providing a unique take on the stereotyped image of an Irish fiddle player on the other hand Dominic is initially presented as a village idiot stereotype but we eventually learn that Dominic's been abused by his father and actually possesses a lot more insight depth and heart than people give him credit for he probably wouldn't ever want to I don't know to fall in love with a boy like me would you so Dominic's death pays tribute to just how much hidden potential is lost when young people in Ireland's history haven't truly been given a chance by their circumstances Siobhan is consistently painted in the film as smart well-read reasonable and kind the perfect combination of both parrix niceness and column's artistic brain so it's significant that this valuable person ends up abandoning the island representing how many great individuals have been lost to Ireland over the years as individuals made the difficult choice to flee the conflicts or find better Economic Opportunity both Dominics and Siobhan's fate give us insight into the true potentials of countless Irish folk that's been limited by the country's conflicts so calm now party please before it's all too late despite ending in 1923 the ripples of the Irish Civil War eventually led to the troubles a bloody conflict that rocked Ireland from the 60s through the 90s with lasting effects still felt today in sectarian conflicts the film's final scene parallels this enduring conflict with the promise that tensions between column and parrick will resume sooner or later the two men can never forget what they put each other through like Ireland will never forget the tremendous conflicts between its own people their fat fingers killed me little donkey today so no we won't call it quits we call it the start it's one thing to have a lasting conflict with your closest friend and another to have it entirely within yourself streaming now on movie apples captures a portrait of a man suddenly struck with amnesia and struggling to build a new life for himself Christos niku's award-winning directorial debut follows the aftermath of a mysterious pandemic that erases people's memory the latest Greek weird wave Masterpiece this gorgeously composed film elegantly plays with ideas of identity and Technology you can watch this tragic comedy right now exclusively on mubi and as a special gift to our viewers mubi is offering 30 days free just click the link in the description below to get a whole month of great Cinema from Iconic directors to emergingo tours there's always something new to discover they love movies as much as we do so their selections are always Top Notch click the link in the description below to get 30 days of movie now so why does column cut off his own fingers instead of attacking the person he's seemingly mad at parrick to hurt his former friend column destroys himself and even the most cherished part of himself that he needs to play his instrument so that's a big clue that while column's stated motivation for ending his relationship with parrick it's his desire to leave a lasting Legacy what's really driving him to these extremes is his self-destructive depression referred to as despair by the priest he confesses to how's the despair column's inner sadness drives him to dedicate himself to things that matter just have this tremendous sense of time slipping away and be partic and I think I need to spend the time I've left thinking and composing and while he attempts to channel his passions into music by the film's end he confesses that his despair hasn't left it even sounds like losing his friendship with parrick has made it worse though column still isn't going to fix that I'm not gonna do anything about it in a way he does achieve his goal he he in an interview with Indie wire director Martin McDonough notes that I thought it was interesting that an artist would threaten the thing that allows him to make art does that thing make him the artist maybe column did have to make this sacrifice to push himself mentally to finish he only cuts off his final fingers after his song is completed and while music can last forever column is aware that the body does not cart off at the beginning was Tyler's on defend it's funny feels fine now and all the excitement there's likely some level of Legacy he's bought himself too who will forget the legend of a man who cut off five of his fingers just to spite his ex-best friend but in his final moments in the film we see him wondering whether this was all worth the cost as parek leaves him on the beach column hums his tune to a roaring ocean that doesn't care at this point humming is the only way he can play his song since he's unable to play an instrument anymore and it's an image of deep loneliness he's driven away his one true Flesh and Blood friend to serve some tenuous abstract idea of Eternal impact after he's gone so he might as well be dead already because he's ended what was actually vibrant in his life the song he thought would fulfill his despair hasn't leaving him feeling just as empty as he started the song he thought would get him remembered will haunt him reminding him of what he's lost in Irish folklore a Banshee AKA woman of the fairies is defined as a being whose mournful Keening or wailing screaming or lamentation at night was believed to foretell the death of a member of the family of the person who heard the spirit throughout the film Mrs McCormick is clearly depicted as the town's Banshee she's always wearing a black hooded cloak seen carrying a hooked cane and the first time we meet her she's talking about death is it six years since your mommy and daddy died Siobhan or is it seven years since they die her presence brings a foreboding energy and she gives parrik a warning of death on in a Sharon a death shall come to Anish Heron for the month is out death huh maybe even two deaths one of the deaths is Dominic's which was hinted at numerous times throughout the film through Mrs McCormick the first time we meet him he's cluelessly questioning the staff that Mrs McCormick later uses to fish his lifeless body out of the water setting up a distinct and sad irony what would you use it for I wonder to hook things or an activists she also appears to the three people who have isolated Dominic in one way or another leading up to his death while Dominic had grown used to the abuse from his father he still had hope and in a Sharon particularly in Siobhan and parrick but the film utilizes two back-to-back scenes that shatter his hope parek revealing how he cruelly lied to the Fiddler and Siobhan's rejection there goes that dream in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter actor Barry Coogan describes his character Dominic as someone who is always trying to cover and not show too much of himself but when Dominic does show himself to Siobhan he gets rejected and in the wake of Paris shedding his niceness Dominic's doubts in human nature are confirmed there's no hope for nice guys on in the Sharon Mrs McCormick's presence in each of these pivotal scenes points to the inevitability of Dominic's untimely death but rather than delivering a piercing howl her dejected Amusement is banshee's true Mark of Death I just don't think that they scream to pretend death anymore I think they just sit back closed captioning not available if you've stayed in your house that would have made us quits in one of the Final Shots she watches parrick walk away from column and the banshee's presence pre-figures death on the horizon in Ireland's future as a result of this permanent Schism herrick's words in the scene confirm both that he's never going to put this behind him some things there's no moving on from and that he know he no longer has any desire to be nice again and I think that's a good thing column's final lines pay tribute to what has been between them an imprint of Civility that still lingers thanks for looking after me doubt for me anyways anytime but Mrs McCormick's body between the two reinforces the finality of their friendship's death and in the loss of this Bond both men's previous selves have also died parrick the Man known for his niceness has transformed into a man who lives only for malice and like a soldier in a war call him his irreversibly scarred and has lost almost everything for his cause even without any of the film's metaphorical aspects or commentary on the Irish identity its emotional power lies in capturing that friendship breakups are deeply heartbreaking and the harsh truth is that sometimes these relationships meet their downfall due to almost no rational issue at all so we should think carefully before we sever our relationships we should take care with the people in our lives ultimately banshees warns us of the dangers of becoming stuck in an endless cycle of Spite and Vengeance in the irreparable damage these conflicts can do on the intimate and the global scale that's the take click here to watch a video we think you'll love or here to check out a whole playlist of awesome content don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications

Channel: The Take

Views: 50,746

Keywords: Colin Farrell, Pádraic Súilleabháin, Brendan Gleeson, Colm Doherty, Kerry Condon, Siobhán Súilleabháin, Pat Shortt, Jonjo Devine, Gary Lydon, Peadar Kearney, Barry Keoghan, Dominic Kearney, Sheila Flitton, Mrs. McCormick, fingers, donkey, banshee, the banshees of inisherin, explained, ending explain, oscars, the take

Id: Jeymzaw-UQM

Length: 14min 58sec (898 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 11 2023