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Movies / On DVD / Secret of Roan Inish
Secret of Roan Inish

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Secret of Roan Inish (1995)

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98 %
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Reviews Counted: 40

Fresh: 39

Rotten:1

Average Rating: 7.8/10

Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Sent to live with her grandparents in a quaint coastal Irish town, 10-year-old Fiona (Jeni Courtney) is fascinated by the village's rich folk culture--especially the local myths about a half-human,... Sent to live with her grandparents in a quaint coastal Irish town, 10-year-old Fiona (Jeni Courtney) is fascinated by the village's rich folk culture--especially the local myths about a half-human, half-seal creature known as a selkie. Fiona becomes convinced that her supposedly deceased little brother is living with the selkies, and she travels to the beautiful, enchanted island of Roan Inish, where her grandparents once lived, to confirm her suspicions. Based on the book SECRET OF RON MOR SKERRY by Rosalie K. Fry, the film is the first John Sayles picture shot outside the United States. Although the magical realism of the film may seem like a departure for Sayles, who is known for gritty slice-of-life dramas, he has covered fantastic elements before (BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET), and has dealt extensively with the theme of returning to one's roots (BABY IT'S YOU, RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN, and PASSION FISH). The film will particularly appeal to children and adults who grew up listening to stories rather than watching them on television, and the special effects--including a magical transformation of a seal into a woman--are meant to replicate the imagination of a rural child unfamiliar with the excesses of mass media. With its gorgeous photography and perfectly paced storytelling, THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH stands as one of the finest folklore-based films ever made. [More]

Starring: Jeni Courtney, Mick Lally, Eileen Colgan, John Lynch

Starring: Jeni Courtney, Mick Lally, Eileen Colgan, John Lynch, Richard Sheridan, Cillian Byrne

Director: John Sayles

Director: John Sayles
Screenwriter: John Sayles
Producer: Maggie Renzi, Sarah Green
Composer: Mason Daring

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jul 25, 2000

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Secret of Roan Inish

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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It's family entertainment in the best sense of the term.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/11/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide

John Sayles' latest marks his entry into family-pic terrain, a crossing that draws pleasant but unexciting results.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/11/08
Dennis Harvey
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Moving from passion fish to mystical seals, versatile filmmaker John Sayles' latest is a first-rate, all-ages fairy tale steeped in Irish folklore.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
03/11/08
Michael Rechtshaffen
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/11/08
Channel 4 Film

This is all rather low-key and uninsistent, but the settings are gorgeous, and Haskell Wexler's cinematography makes the most of them.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/11/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of his most accomplished movies, this is Sayles' corrective fable to a genre thas has favored male protags, exploring another outsider character, a young girl alone in the world.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
01/31/07
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
05/03/06
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

Tales within tales, a subtle sense of economic and social realities, fine landscape photography and strong performances make for an engrossing, unusual fantasy.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
07/16/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A beautifully told faerie tale

comment Comment
06/10/05
Douglas Pratt
DVDLaser

One of Mr. Sayles's artistic strengths (and commercial liabilities) is his refusal to make movies that knock you over the head with larger-than-life characters and emotions.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
03/19/05
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Lyrical and lovely.

comment Comment
06/23/04
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
04/30/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
12/18/03
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)

No review available.

comment Comment
12/01/03
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

No review available.

comment Comment
11/21/03
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
06/01/03
Brandon Judell
PopcornQ

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Jim Shelby
Palo Alto Weekly

Unusually sweet Sayles tale.

comment Comment
02/27/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner
 
 
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March 16, 2005: Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival 2005
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