''Moondance'' is a 1995 Irish drama film based on the 1936 novel ''The White Hare'' by Francis Stuart. It was directed by and stars

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 ...

, in his second feature film following '' Into the West''. It also features Ian Shaw,

Julia Brendler Julia Brendler (born 26 February 1975) is a German actress. Biography Born on 26 February 1975 in Schwedt (East Germany, now Brandenburg in Germany), she began acting at the age of 14 years. For the first role in Helmut Dzuibas' film ''Forbidd ...

and

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

, who also provided the vocals for the song "Madam George" written by

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

, who wrote the lyrics for the songs included in the soundtrack.

Plot

''Moondance'' is the coming-of-age tale of two brothers, Patrick and Dominic who have a close relationship and live a care-free life in the countryside of Western Ireland. While their mother (Marianne Faithfull) is often away, travelling around the world, the brothers receive frequent visits from their interfering aunt, Dorothy who believes that Dominic should be receiving an education and that he should be sent to boarding school, for which Patrick doesn't agree. On one of Dorothy's visits, she brings along a young German woman named Anya, who volunteers to help Dominic with his education at home, and that it would also help her practise her English. As Anya continues to spend time with the brothers, Mother later returns home and announces that she is back to stay. She accepts Anya into her home. Patrick is disappointed that it will soon be time for Anya to leave as she about to begin university. Desperate for her to stay, he asks her to marry him, for which she agrees. As a wedding present to Anya, Dominic surprises her and leads her to a shack in the woods which he has decorated the inside for her. There it becomes evident that Dominic has a crush on Anya and he tells her that she will be his bride too. On the morning of the wedding, Anya becomes anxious and feels that she and Patrick are rushing into things too fast and tells him she needs more time to think things over. Patrick blames his mother for Anya's change of heart. Patrick and Anya then go to the shack where they make love. As Partick and Anya decide to leave for Dublin, Dominic decides to go with them as he cannot be without his brother. On arriving in Dublin, Anya meets with a friend, Rose whose boyfriend, Murphy agrees to let them live in a flat rent-free above his bar. Dominic then decides to have his greyhound, Ishka trained as a racing dog. The brothers' relationship soon comes under threat when Dominic becomes increasingly jealous over Patrick and Anya's relationship. Not only does he want Anya all for himself, he doesn't want to lose his brother. Anya begins to show her affection for Dominic and an almost intimate encounter is interrupted by Patrick which causes friction between Anya and Patrick. While Patrick is later out drinking, Anya tries to make love to Dominic, for which he becomes uncomfortable. As the tension continues between the brothers, Dominic decides to take a job on a boat. Before leaving, he returns home to the country where he sets fire to the shack. As he watches it burn, his mother finds him and comforts him. Meanwhile, Anya announces to Patrick that she will be going back to Germany after revealing that she and Dominic love each other. On returning to Dublin, Dominic and Patrick decide to put their differences behind them and make peace and Dominic says goodbye to Patrick and leaves.

Cast

... Dominic * Ian Shaw ... Patrick *

... Anya *

... Mother *

Brendan Grace Brendan Grace (1 April 1951 – 11 July 2019) was an Irish comedian and singer. He was best known for his comedy schoolboy character 'Bottler', the 1995 film '' Moondance'', and his 1996 appearance in the Irish TV sitcom ''Father Ted'' as Fath ...

... Murphy * Jasmine Russell ... Rose * Darren Monks ... Chalky * David Kelly ... Mr. Dunwoody * Tom Hickey ... Mr. Dunbar * Kate Flynn ... Aunt Dorothy * Alan Devlin ... John Joe *

Gerard McSorley Gerard McSorley (Irish: Gearóid Mac Somhairle; born 1 January 1950) is an Irish theatre, television and film actor. Early life He was born in the County Tyrone town of Omagh and, after attending a Christian Brothers school in his hometown, ...

... Fr. McGrath * P.J Brady ... Murty * Joan O'Hara ... Nun

Soundtrack

The score for the film was provided entirely by Fiachra Trench, which he composed, orchestrated and conducted. Trench additionally produced the score opposite Maggie Rodford. The music was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. The songs in the film were written by

. * "Moondance" -Traditional version performed by Artie McGlyn and

Nollaig Casey Nollaig Casey ( ga, Nollaig Ní Chathasaigh) is an Irish fiddle player, and has an international reputation as one of Ireland's finest fiddle players. By the time she was eleven years old she could play violin, piano, tin whistle and uilleann pipe ...

* "Moondance" – Vocal version performed by Brian Kennedy, written by Van Morrison (from Warner Chappell Music LTD.) * "Have I Told You Lately" – Performed by Brian Kennedy and Shanna Morrison, written by Van Morrison, produced by Van Morrison and

Phil Coulter Philip Coulter (born 19 February 1942) is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009. Coulter ha ...

(from Exile/ Polygram Music LTD.) * "Queen of the Slipstream" -Performed by Brian Kennedy, written by Van Morrison, produced by James McMillan (from Essential/Polygram Music LTD.) * "Madam George" – Performed by Marianne Faithfull, written by Van Morrison (from Web IV/Polygram Music)

References

External links

*
''Moondance''
at AllMovie {{DEFAULTSORT:Moondance (film)) 1995 films 1995 drama films German drama films English-language German films English-language Irish films Films shot in Ireland Films set in Dublin (city) Irish drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s German films English-language drama films