MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 1,624 this week

The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)

7.3
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.3/10 from 4,668 users  
Reviews: 63 user | 24 critic

10-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland. She soon learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a Selkie - a seal ... See full summary »

Director:

Writers:

(book), (screenplay)
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 2366 titles created 4 months ago
 
a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 1623 titles created 4 months ago
 
a list of 48 titles created 11 months ago
 
a list of 2383 titles created 7 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)

The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) on IMDb 7.3/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Secret of Roan Inish.
1 win & 7 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Drama | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

A young British girl born and raised in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's estate. Her uncle is very distant due to the ... See full summary »

Director: Agnieszka Holland
Stars: Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott
Drama | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

A young girl is relegated to servitude at a boarding school when her father goes missing and is presumed dead.

Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Stars: Liesel Matthews, Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham
Drama | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

A little girl discovers dreams do come true if you really believe. Six-year-old Susan has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle - Santa Claus. Her mother told her the "secret" ... See full summary »

Director: Les Mayfield
Stars: Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott
Drama | Romance | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

A young woman meets and falls in love with a young man who is part of a family of immortals.

Director: Jay Russell
Stars: Alexis Bledel, William Hurt, Sissy Spacek
Babe (1995)
Adventure | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

Babe, a pig raised by sheepdogs, learns to herd sheep with a little help from Farmer Hoggett.

Director: Chris Noonan
Stars: Christine Cavanaugh, Miriam Margolyes, James Cromwell
Drama | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X  

A man seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.

Director: Ingmar Bergman
Stars: Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe
Drama | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

Two children in 1917 take a photograph, believed by some to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies. Based on a true story.

Director: Charles Sturridge
Stars: Harvey Keitel, Florence Hoath, Elizabeth Earl
Adventure | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A troubled boy dives into a wonderous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.

Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Stars: Barret Oliver, Gerald McRaney, Noah Hathaway
Drama | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

An Iowa corn farmer, hearing voices, interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields; he does, and the Chicago Black Sox come.

Director: Phil Alden Robinson
Stars: Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Ray Liotta
Prancer (1989)
Drama | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.8/10 X  

Jessica, the daughter of an impoverished farmer, still believes in Santa Claus. So when she comes across a reindeer with an injured leg, it makes perfect sense to her to assume that it is ... See full summary »

Director: John D. Hancock
Stars: Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman, Rutanya Alda
Comedy | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

When a nice old man who claims to be Santa Claus is institutionalized as insane, a young lawyer decides to defend him by arguing in court that he is the real thing.

Director: George Seaton
Stars: Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn
Adventure | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A meek and alienated little boy finds a stranded extraterrestrial. He has to find the courage to defy the authorities to help the alien return to its home planet.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeni Courtney ...
Fiona
Pat Slowey ...
Priest
Dave Duffy ...
Jim
Declan Hannigan ...
Oldest brother
Mairéad Ní Ghallchóir ...
Barmaid
Eugene McHugh ...
Bar Patron 1
Tony Rubini ...
Bar Patron 2
Mick Lally ...
Hugh
Eileen Colgan ...
Tess
Richard Sheridan ...
Eamon
Micheal MacCarthaigh ...
Schoolmaster
Fergal McElherron ...
Sean Michael
Brendan Conroy ...
Flynn
...
Tadhg
Frankie McCafferty ...
Tim
Edit

Storyline

10-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland. She soon learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a Selkie - a seal who can turn into a human. Years earlier, her baby brother washed out to sea in a cradle shaped like a boat; someone in the family believes the boy is being raised by the seals. Then Fiona catches sight of a naked little boy on the abandoned Isle of Roan Inish and takes an active role in uncovering The Secret of Roan Inish. Written by John Oswalt. Modified by Nancy Janelle. Written by John Oswalt <jao@jao.com>, <nanc66@gmail.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Between land and sea there is a place where myths are real. See more »

Genres:

Drama | Family | Fantasy

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some moments that may be disquieting to small children | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

|

Language:

|

Release Date:

3 February 1995 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Le secret de Roan Inish  »

Filming Locations:


Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$6,101,600 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Stereo)

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Goofs

During the storm on Roan Inish, there is a shot of the rocks holding down the roof moving quite a bit from the force of the wind. However, the rocks in the background of the cottage next door are absolutely still suggesting that the storm is completely man-made and the crew only had the wind machines on the one cottage. See more »

Quotes

Tess: Stuperstitious old man!
[goes to the fireplace to put out the peat-fire]
Tess: I rake this fire as the pure Christ rakes us all... with Mary at the foot and Brigid at the head. And may the eight brightest angels from the City of Grace preserve this house and all its people till the coming of the day.
[Crosses herself]
See more »

Connections

Featured in The Oprah Winfrey Show: Summer Movie Reviews (1996) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

A good story well told
14 August 2004 | by (Ohio) – See all my reviews

I loved this movie. While this was not a movie specifically made for a young audience (by that I mean, it's not a "kid flick,") this is a great family film. If you give your kids a chance to love an intelligent film, they will. This story is told so vividly, so beautifully, that it held my 6 and 9 year old daughters rapt in spite of the fact that it did not resemble a Disney Channel video.

Anyone who can appreciate folklore tales should love this movie. The cinematography is absolutely breathtaking, the script well written, the actors all wholly believable. I could watch it again and again.


16 of 17 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
More films like this? BERSERKERpoetry
One word describes this movie drlyon
Why did they leave? niblet_511
Human-Selkie Relations Balcones
finding her skin killertomato05
Likey neptunespost2000
Discuss The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?