The Wind That Shakes The Barley - Opening Scene

The film starts with diegetic sound of young men shouting, laughing and talking in southern Irish accents and also sheep making noises in the background; this connotes that the film is set in Ireland and with the scenic background of hills and mountains, it's tranquil, peaceful and quite. The men look to be around their early 20s and they're playing Hurling which also connotes that they're in Ireland. The clothes that the men are wearing are old very old fashioned and wouldn't be worn now, denoting that the film is set in the past, roughly the 1920s or 30s. Also, with the condition that some of the men's clothes are in connotes that they could be poor. However, the men are laughing and cheering whilst playing sport which connotes that they're happy and having a good time. More connotation that the film is set in the past is the fact that their Hurleys aren't a modern shape with bands or grips on, they are old fashioned Hurleys.

A serif font is used. The style looks Gaelic which also adds to the idea that the film is set in Ireland. The first character to really stand out from the crowd is a big guy that argues with the referee, connoting that he's an aggressive man and that he may be one of the main characters in the film. Almost 2 minutes into the film, non diegetic music fades in. The music is slow and it sounds like a sad military song that would be played at a military funeral or remembrance connoting that these men are involved with the military. The men start talking about the British and slagging them off, quoting 'They all lick the King's arse'. This denotes that they don't like the British very much.

The first house that appears in the film is a tradition farm house and looks very old fashioned. It's been made fairly clear by this point that the film is set in the past. Once again, there is peaceful diegetic sound, this time of birds and I think that this was done to show how peaceful Ireland is. Another character enters, she is old and one of the young men starts to talk to her in a friendly way, connoting that they are nice men and are respectful rather than abusive. He talks to the old woman about how he's going to London to be a doctor, denoting that he's clever.

3 and a half minutes into the film, you hear shouting and a group of men dressed in Black and Tan military uniform running around the corner, confirming suspicion and denoting that the military is involved in this film.
They are agressive and ask for the men's names, not letting them speak in Irish, connoting that they don't like the Irish and seeing as though the Black and Tans were British and they are speaking with a British accent, it suggests that the film is about a battle between both the Irish and the British. The Black and Tans were violent, unfair and horrible and as this film is written from an Irish point of view, that point is certainly put across. The leader of the group calls all of the Irish men 'Bastards' and states that they're not allowed public meetings and to play games such as Hurling, although he calls it 'Your poxy games'.

Because one man won't say his name in English, the leader of the group says that he's speaking riddles and he's taken into a barn and killed. This denotes that the men are brutal and violent and as soon as he's killed, slow non diegetic music fades in. It's sad music which certainly suggests that the film is going to be sad, which indeed, it is.

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