The Secret of Roan Inish

The Secret of Roan Inish

Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Sayles
Produced by Sarah Green
Maggie Renzi
Screenplay by John Sayles
Based on the children's novel Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry 
by Rosalie K. Fry
Starring Jeni Courtney
Eileen Colgan
Richard Sheridan
Dave Duffy
John Lynch
Music by Mason Daring
Cinematography Haskell Wexler
Edited by John Sayles
Production
company
Jones Entertainment Group
Skerry Productions
Distributed by The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release dates
Running time
 103 minutes
Country United States
Ireland
Language English
Irish
Budget $5.7 million[1]
Box office $6,159,269[1]

The Secret of Roan Inish is a 1994 American/Irish independent film written and directed by John Sayles. It is based on the novel Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry, by Rosalie K. Fry.[2]

It is centered on the Irish and Orcadian folklores of selkies—seals that can shed their skins to become human. The story, set on the west coast of Ireland, is about Fiona, a young girl who is sent to live with her grandparents and her cousin Eamon near the island of Roan Inish, where the selkies are rumored to reside. It is a family legend that her younger brother was swept away in his infancy and raised by a selkie. Part of the film takes place in Donegal.

Plot

The story is told from the point of view of Fiona (Jeni Courtney), a young girl who is sent to live with her grandparents in an Irish fishing village.

Her grandfather weaves tall tales about the family's evacuation from their home on the tiny island of Roan Inish and his great-great-grandfather, who once cheated death at the hands of the sea.

As she meets other villagers, Fiona hears more personal stories about an ancestor who married a beautiful, part-human/part-seal, and more about how the sea stole her baby brother, Jamie, during the departure from Roan Inish.

Later, Fiona believes that she has found Jamie romping in the grass on Roan Inish, and she must convince the family of her vision.

Cast

  • Jeni Courtney as Fiona
  • Eileen Colgan as Tess
  • Richard Sheridan as Eamon
  • Dave Duffy as Jim
  • Pat Slowey as Priest
  • Declan Hannigan as Oldest brother
  • Mairéad Ní Ghallchóir as Barmaid
  • Eugene McHugh as Bar Patron 1
  • Tony Rubini as Bar Patron 2
  • Mick Lally as Hugh
  • Michael MacCarthaigh as Schoolmaster
  • Fergal McElherron as Sean Michael
  • Brendan Conroy as Flynn
  • John Lynch as Tadhg
  • Susan Lynch as the Selkie
  • Frankie McCafferty as Tim
  • Cillian Byrne as Jamie

Production

Although in the original novel the story takes place in Scotland, the filmmakers decided to have the film take place in Ireland for practical reasons.[3]

Reception

Critical response

It holds a 98% "Certified Fresh" and average rating of 7.8/10 on review site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 42 reviews. Critic Stephen Holden, film critic for The New York Times, liked the film's direction. He wrote, "The Secret of Roan Inish is the first film directed by Mr. Sayles that could be described as visually rhapsodic. Photographed by Haskell Wexler on Ireland's rugged northwestern seacoast, it is a cinematic tone poem in which man and nature, myth and reality flow together in a way that makes them ultimately indivisible."[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gerry Molyneaux, "John Sayles, Renaissance Books, 2000 p 216
  2. ↑ The Secret of Roan Inish at the Internet Movie Database
  3. ↑ Abbe, Elfrieda. "`Secret of Roan Inish' a windswept mystery (Milwaukee Sentinel, Mar 3,1995)". BNET. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  4. ↑ Holden, Stephen. The New York Times, film review, "John Sayles in the Land of Enchantment", February 3, 1995.

External links