''Into the West'' is a 1992 Irish
magical realist film about
Irish Travellers
Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural group ...
written by
Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish playwright and filmmaker.
Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed two critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, ''My Left Foot'' and ''In the Name of the Father'', and later directed the film ...
and directed by
Mike Newell, and stars
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, audiobook narrator, and author. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined London's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's s ...
and
Ellen Barkin.
''Into the West'' was one of several major films to come from Ireland during the 1990s, including the likes of ''
My Left Foot
''My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown'', also known simply as ''My Left Foot'', is a 1989 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jim Sheridan adapted by Sheridan and Shane Connaughton from the 1954 memoir of the same name by Christy ...
'', ''
The Field'', ''
The Miracle'', ''
The Commitments'', ''
The Boxer
"The Boxer" is a song written by Paul Simon and recorded by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fifth studio album, '' Bridge over Troubled Water'' (1970). Produced by the duo and Roy Halee, it was released as a standalone sing ...
'', ''
The Playboys
''The Playboys'' is a 1992 Irish film directed by Gillies MacKinnon and starring Albert Finney, Aidan Quinn and Robin Wright. The plot follows an unwed young mother whose life is transformed with the arrival of a travelling troupe of actors t ...
'', ''
In the Name of the Father
IN, In or in may refer to:
Places
* India (country code IN)
* Indiana, United States (postal code IN)
* Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN)
* In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Businesses and organizations
* Indepen ...
'', ''
War of the Buttons'' and ''
The Crying Game
''The Crying Game'' is a 1992 thriller film written and directed by Neil Jordan, produced by Stephen Woolley, and starring Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, Adrian Dunbar, Ralph Brown, and Forest Whitaker. The film explores the ...
''.
Plot
''Into the West'' is a film about two young boys, Tito (Conroy) and Ossie (Fitzgerald), whose father "Papa" Reilly (Byrne) was "King of
Irish Travellers
Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural group ...
" until his wife, Mary, died during the birth of their second son, Ossie. The boys' grandfather (David Kelly) is an old story-telling Traveller, who regales the children with Irish folk-tales and legends. When he is followed by a beautiful white horse called
Tír na nÓg
In Irish mythology Tír na nÓg (; "Land of the Young") or Tír na hÓige ("Land of Youth") is one of the names for the Celtic Otherworld, or perhaps for a part of it. Tír na nÓg is best known from the tale of Oisín and Niamh.
Other Old Iri ...
(meaning "Land of Eternal Youth" in Irish), from the sea to Dublin, where the boys and their father have now settled down in a grim tower block in
Ballymun
Ballymun () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was ...
, the boys are overwhelmed with joy and dreams of becoming cowboys. The horse is stolen from them by corrupt Gardai and is sold as a Racehorse. They see Tir Na Nog on TV, and they begin their adventure to get their mystical horse back. They escape the poverty of a north Dublin council estate, and ride "Into the West". Papa Rielly is arrested, and beaten by the corrupt Gardai, until he is released on the orders of the superintendent. He then returns to his halting site, where he is shown no welcome. His friend Kathleen, takes him in and from there they go to track the boys. Meanwhile the boys find shelter using traditional traveller methods and move further West as "Cowboys" as they travel, they find the Gardai, helicopters and dog packs tracking them. Tir Na Nog always seems to find a way to avoid them. The horse takes them to their mother's grave, Where Ossie finds out his mother died giving birth to him. The net closes in on the boys, forcing them to flee to the beach, where they find Papa Rielly, Kathleen and the Barrel maker. The Gardai catch Papa Rielly and the Barrel maker in nets, and Tir Na Nog gallops into the sea, with Ossie still on his back. Papa Rielly breaks free and goes into the sea, where he brings out a lifeless Ollie. After performing CPR, Ollie comes round. The superintendent calls off the hunt for the boys. After that, Papa Rielly finally burns his Barrel Wagon, and puts his Wife's memory to rest. The boys see Tir Na Nogs image in the flames, and smile.
Cast
*
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, audiobook narrator, and author. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined London's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's s ...
as Papa Reilly
*
Ellen Barkin as Kathleen
*
Ciarán Fitzgerald
Ciarán Fitzgerald is an Irish film and television actor.
Early life and career
Fitzgerald was born in Dublin, Ireland. He made his film debut in 1992 when he played the role of Ossie Reilly in '' Into the West'', a film which he is perhaps ...
as Ossie
*
Rúaidhrí Conroy
Rúaidhrí Conroy (born 30 November 1979 in Dublin) is an Irish actor. He is the son of actor Brendan Conroy. One of his first castings was as Tito (and not Tayto as commonly misconceived) in the 1992 film '' Into the West'', for which he won ...
as Tito (credited as Ruaidhrí Conroy)
*
David Kelly as Grandfather
*
Johnny Murphy
John Joseph Murphy (July 14, 1908 – January 14, 1970) was an All-Star American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (1932, 1934–43, 1946–47) who later became a front office executive in the game.
Yankees' relief ace
After ...
as Tracker
*
Colm Meaney
Colm J. Meaney (; ga, Colm Ó Maonaigh; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor known for playing Miles O'Brien in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He has guest-starred on many T ...
as Barreller
*
John Kavanagh as Hartnett
*
Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two British Independent Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award and four times for ...
as Inspector Bolger
*
Jim Norton as Superintendent O'Mara
*
Anita Reeves
Anita Reeves (24 June 1948 – 7 July 2016) was an Irish stage and film actress.
Early life
Born in South Dublin, Ireland, the youngest daughter of Jack Reeves and his wife, Kay. Reeves grew up on Sundrive Road in Dublin 12, where her father Ja ...
as Mrs. Murphy
*
Ray McBride as Mr. Murphy
* Dave Duffy as Morrissey
* Stuart Dannell-Foran as Conor Murphy (credited as Stuart Dannell)
* Becca Hollinshead as Birdy Murphy
Production
The script was written by
Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish playwright and filmmaker.
Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed two critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, ''My Left Foot'' and ''In the Name of the Father'', and later directed the film ...
, who did not intend to write simply for children, although the film mainly follows two young children on the run with their beautiful, magical white horse. Other themes targeted to adults, are also present: grief, the clash of cultures with differing values, and the use of the police by the rich and powerful to enforce property rights in their favour. Sheridan wrote the script five years before he directed ''My Left Foot''.
Gabriel Byrne said it was one of the best scripts he ever read, and described it at the time as Jim Sheridan's best work to date. Byrne was committed to the work, he said; ''Apart from it being a story about Travellers, and the relationship between a father and his two sons, it really was in a way about Ireland.'' Ellen Barkin said that from the first reading she thought it an extraordinary piece of film writing.
The movie's most memorable scenes, such as the horse in the cinema and the beans exploding, were shot in the small town of
Portarlington in
County Laois
County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...
.
Reception
The film has received a mostly positive critical reception. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has a score of 77% based on reviews from 13 critics.
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
said the "kids will probably love this movie, but adults will get a lot more out of it". Variety Staff said that "''Into the West'' is a likable but modest pic", and that "a major asset throughout is Patrick Doyle's rich, Gaelic-flavoured scoring that carries the movie's emotional line and fairy tale atmosphere.
Desson Howe
Desson Patrick Thomson is a former speechwriter for the Obama administration and former Film criticism, film critic for ''The Washington Post''. He was known as Desson Howe until 2003 when he changed his name after reuniting with his birth fath ...
of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' said that the film is "a charming children's crusade – a rewarding journey for all ages".
Rita Kempley
Rita may refer to:
People
* Rita (given name)
* Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984)
* Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962)
* Rita (Japanese singer)
* Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita
Places
* Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...
of the Washington Post said that "the movie is alternately grim and lyrical", and "though long on ambiance and short on story, it may appeal to the spiritually inclined – and to
oater lovers.
Box office
The film was the fourth highest-grossing film in Ireland for the year with a gross of £748,080.
Awards
* 1993: Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film at the Cleveland International Film Festival
The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest film festival in Ohio. It was first held in 1977, showing eight films over a period of eight weeks at the Cedar Lee Theatre. It ...
– Mike Newell.
* 1993: Starboy Award at the Oulu International Children's Film Festival – Mike Newell.
* 1994: Golden Calf
According to the Bible, the golden calf (עֵגֶל הַזָּהָב '' ‘ēgel hazzāhāv'') was an idol (a cult image) made by the Israelites when Moses went up to Mount Sinai. In Hebrew, the incident is known as ''ḥēṭə’ hā‘ēgel'' ...
for Best European Film at the Netherlands Film Festival
The Netherlands Film Festival ( nl, Nederlands Film Festival) is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht.
During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Be ...
– Mike Newell.
* 1994: Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
for Outstanding Family Foreign Film at the Young Artist Awards – Mike Newell.
* 1994: Young Artist Award for Outstanding Youth Actor in a Family Film at the Young Artist Awards – Rúaidhrí Conroy
Rúaidhrí Conroy (born 30 November 1979 in Dublin) is an Irish actor. He is the son of actor Brendan Conroy. One of his first castings was as Tito (and not Tayto as commonly misconceived) in the 1992 film '' Into the West'', for which he won ...
& Ciarán Fitzgerald.
Home video releases
''Into the West'' was released on VHS and LaserDisc format in the US by Touchstone Home Video
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the Home video, home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films ...
in 1994. The DVD was released in the US on 4 February 2003 by Miramax Home Entertainment
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a lead ...
with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen.
The VHS was released in Ireland and the UK on 21 September 1993 by Entertainment in Video. It was released on DVD in Ireland and the UK on 17 December 2001 by Entertainment in Video and again on 15 September 2003 by Cinema Club. As of 2020, it is being broadcast on the Criterion Channel
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
in the USA and Canada.
References
Bibliography
* Lance Pettitt, ''Screening Ireland: film and television representation'', Manchester University Press, 2000, 320 p. ()
* Joe Cleary, ''Outrageous Fortune: Capital and Culture in Modern Ireland'', vol. 1, Field Day Publications, coll. « Field day files », 2007, 320 p. ()
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Into The West (Film)
1992 films
Ballymun
Irish fantasy films
1990s adventure films
Films about horses
Films directed by Mike Newell
Works about Irish Travellers
Films scored by Patrick Doyle
Films set in Ireland
Films based on Celtic mythology
Miramax films
English-language Irish films
1990s English-language films