This an intensely moving story of young love set in 1918 rural Ireland. We see how three generations of the same family are shattered by the Anglo-Irish conflict. ‘Fools of Fortune’ takes place on the huge estate of the Quintons. Sheltered from the economic and political travails all around them, they are shocked into the real world when one of their workers is ritualistically murdered. Previously noncommittal, the family is thrust into the middle of the struggle. After a deadly confrontation in which most of his loved ones are killed, young Willie vows revenge and embarks on a journey of political intrigue, love and self exile.
Director: Pat O’Connor.
Stars: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Iain Glen, Julie Christie, Michael Kitchen, Tom Hickey, Neil Dudgeon, Niamh Cusack, Ronnie Masterson, Frankie McCafferty, Hazel Flanagan, Amy-Joyce Hastings, Mick Lally, John Kavanagh, P.G. Brady, Jimmy Keogh.
Great film which captures the complexity of what it is and means to be ‘Irish’.
Having looked (for years since I first saw this movie, when it was released), i thought that I would never see this movie again. I know the novel quite well, of course, but it;s seemed so sad that the movie had ,ironically enough, just…….disappeared….unavailable in any medium.
Given my family’s history and my own preoccupations, the movie means a great deal to me.
So, thank you.
Sincerely,
David Terry
http://www.davidterryart.com