I went to see Pilgrim Hill in late 2011 at the Classic Cinema in Listowel, and one of the first thing that struck me was the amount of farmers present, something which I'd never seen before at a screening of any film.
The film itself tells the story of Jimmy Walsh, a lonely and isolated bachelor farmer, whose mundane life is interspersed with visits to the creamery and the local pub. Any of the vast social and economic changes that occurred in the last twenty years in Ireland seemed to have bypassed Jimmy. The farm he works seems almost of another era, with rickety roadways, a vintage tractor and an antiquated milking parlour. And these are just the things we can physically see; the overbearing presence of his bed-ridden father, whom we never see, but are given of a picture of by Jimmy's documentary style revelations to the camera.
And yet, there are glimmers of hope; the simple satisfaction Jimmy gets from tasks such as milking the cows, repairing fences, saving turf. The chance and all too brief encounter with an attractive musician, the friendship offered by Tommy, whose joie de vivre brings an energy and vitality to the film.
But it is Joe Mullins, who plays Jimmy, who is the real star. Fantastic facial expressions and a farmers gatch about him, the audience roots for him even to the extent that you could hear people drawing breath when he is stopped at a Garda checkpoint on route home from the pub.
For anyone from a farming background, the denouement is heartbreaking, but it never felt forced or tacked on. Undoubtedly a slow moving film (almost French in style, although the weather is a lot better there!), but well worth seeing for a snapshot of Irish rural life that may well be gone in another generation. Finally, fair play to Ger Barrett for making the whole thing on a shoe string budget.
The film itself tells the story of Jimmy Walsh, a lonely and isolated bachelor farmer, whose mundane life is interspersed with visits to the creamery and the local pub. Any of the vast social and economic changes that occurred in the last twenty years in Ireland seemed to have bypassed Jimmy. The farm he works seems almost of another era, with rickety roadways, a vintage tractor and an antiquated milking parlour. And these are just the things we can physically see; the overbearing presence of his bed-ridden father, whom we never see, but are given of a picture of by Jimmy's documentary style revelations to the camera.
And yet, there are glimmers of hope; the simple satisfaction Jimmy gets from tasks such as milking the cows, repairing fences, saving turf. The chance and all too brief encounter with an attractive musician, the friendship offered by Tommy, whose joie de vivre brings an energy and vitality to the film.
But it is Joe Mullins, who plays Jimmy, who is the real star. Fantastic facial expressions and a farmers gatch about him, the audience roots for him even to the extent that you could hear people drawing breath when he is stopped at a Garda checkpoint on route home from the pub.
For anyone from a farming background, the denouement is heartbreaking, but it never felt forced or tacked on. Undoubtedly a slow moving film (almost French in style, although the weather is a lot better there!), but well worth seeing for a snapshot of Irish rural life that may well be gone in another generation. Finally, fair play to Ger Barrett for making the whole thing on a shoe string budget.
