Ireland and Canada not good enough for them? - In America (2004) Discussion

[–] dakedoom 16 years ago

Simple. The US needed to make another propaganda film.

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I take it neither of you guys are Irish! For hundreds of years in this country America has been the land of opportunity and people have flocked there in droves...the director would have known this. I would wager there isn't one single household in Ireland that hasn't had a family member or at least a relative that hasn't gone to America to make their fortune, I have nine cousins in America married and integrated into the society...the fact that the family went to America for a fresh start makes complete sense...14 million Irish passports have been issued by the Irish government and there are only 4.5 million living here, go figure...

I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left!

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[–] dakedoom 16 years ago

In the times we're living in.. staying away from the US is the better option.

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[–] johnyjoe 15 years ago

How about the time the movie is set?

Movies on IMDB are not overrated, you're just of the minority that doesn't bloody LIKE THEM!

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[–] carlydunham 15 years ago

the movie is set in 2000s not the 1980s

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[–] JahWoo 15 years ago

actually it's not set at any time; the directors intent was for it to be timeless...the only thing that prevents it from taking place in the 80s is the radio station being the hits of the 70s, 80s, and 90s

the et scene kind of throws things off though because I think that was rereleased in the 2000s.....at which time the likely hood of there being et toys at a carnival game wasn't very high...

but drugs for hiv/aids have advanced from the TONS of things the african guy had in his fridge since the 80s as well..

point being if it were to be set at some time it's more like the 90s than either the 80s or 2000s

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[–] Shinsei-NEN 11 years ago

IMDB says this movie is loosely based on the life of Jim Sheridan,
who is the director of this movie, other sites say it's semi-autobiographical.
He wrote the screenplay with his daughters, the girls on film are based on them
and character Frankie is based on his brother who died at the age of 10.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1949, emigrated to Canada then New York City, 1981, meeting a man who invited him to run the Irish Arts Center. He found a place to live in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, and was low on finances at first.

...Sheridan lived in NYC with his wife and children from 1981-1989, before moving back to Ireland to film My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989).

This is one of his quotes (this goes for those who are talking about economy):

[on his early years in New York] We didn't have a sense of being poor. We came from Ireland where you could literally be poor because there was about 17 percent unemployment and 15 percent interest rates and inflation, you know, and a war going on, so to come here wasn't as edgy... it seemed an easier place to live in.

Now, in the movie, Johnny, the father, used to work as an actor in Canada,
their reason to move was for that incident that happened with their son.
The moral in this movie is about learning to overcome the sadness and pain
people could have suffered in the past and live for future.

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[–] bear022013-588-696101 11 years ago

But Sheridan moved to an Irish neighborhood.He would NEVER move into a black neighborhood they would kill his whole family and get away with it!

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[–] bear022013-588-696101 11 years ago

You are so correct.We are fighting black on White crime.

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[–] iannisbet 16 years ago

I am Scottish, so understand the sentiment of seeking opportunity elsewhere (i.e. the highland clearances etc). However, whilst this may have been valid in the 18th century in Scotland, and in the 19th and much of the 20th century in Ireland, it doesn't really hold today.

My point is just that the family in the film left Ireland (during a time in which is has experienced something of an economic renaissance within the European Union), entered and then departed from Canada (which also offers many of the economic opportunities that will be found in the USA), and eventually wound up in New York there they endure a sort of self-inflicted hardship.

A Mexican family would perhaps make for a more likely narrative.

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[–] jgroub 15 years ago

Exactly, iannisbet. I found it difficult to swallow the central premise of this movie for precisely those reasons. Why leave Ireland/Canada in 2002 to come to the United States, when the economies of those countries were not only just fine, but in fact doing very well, thank you very much. The story did not make sense with an Irish family in 2002.

Now if it had been set in 1982 - which I know it wasn't - it would have made a lot more sense.

I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

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[–] mikeyg24 15 years ago

Why people keep trying to put a year on this movie is beyond me. Even the director himself said the movie was supposed to be timeless. Why they are there or what state society was in at the time is immaterial.

We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English.
~Winston Churchill

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] mikeyg24 14 years ago

I use the term timeless regarding a particular year or decade. The movie is about a family trying to make a fresh start from a past that still haunts them and realising that they have to come to terms with that past before looking to the future.

The director wanted the time period to be ambiguous precisely so that social and economical factors would not be considered as having a bearing on their decisions and experiences, which is exactly what has happened on this thread. In other words the path they choose rather than the path the were forced to take.

Good guys may not finish last but they sure as sh*t don't finish first!

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[–] HelgaCo 12 years ago

Yep, the movie is not about where they´re from (or if researchs about AIDS have evolved or not). The point is that they were running from their past and facing overwhelming problems they could barely handle.

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] corradined 12 years ago

antiamerican? look up the link and the actors list...

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006487/

who's making propaganda now?

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[–] bear022013-588-696101 11 years ago

Correct sir.

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[–] marvelass 10 years ago

Simple. The US needed to make another propaganda film.

It wasn't even an American film. It was a UK/Irish production.

.

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[–] reallyloud8999 10 years ago

dakedoom wrote: Simple. The US needed to make another propaganda film.

The only thing that is "simple" is your mind. You apparently didn't grasp the implications of the father being an actor? America is the place where stage & screen actors have gone for the last 100 years when they want to be successful. Seriously, how are you this daft and still able to operate a computer?

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[–] The_Boxing_Cat 8 years ago

SOME people on this thread do not grasp the concept that for an actor just starting out, he must follow the work.

And furthermore, if an actor doesn't believe in himself, then he will be forced to make a career move.

BTW, Any actor worth their salt will choose to make bold career moves, (while performing) no matter how scared s#!tless they are. This mindset is the stuff that creates Oscar winners.

PS
For all you U.S.A bashers: What is the most coveted award by any actor? Hint: The OSCAR, and just in case you didn't know this...it's an AMERICAN organization.

Some are great at one thing, others, a couple or so (maybe three), But America is great at many things.

In past times America has gotten dumped on for not coming to the aid of oppressed peoples when genocide had been committed. BUT when she does, she is accused of being a war monger, or sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong.
YOU CAN'T FREAKING HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!
That is all (grin).

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[–] Somervile 16 years ago

The Irish Family illegally moved to America because the father is an aspiring actor. New York is known as an actor's city. He selfishly chased his dream and put his family at risk. I guess he doesn't want to be a screen actor just a theater actor. This movie was based on a true story(as seen at the very end of the movie right before the credits[unless you weren't paying attention to the very end of the movie!]), so it would make no sense to make it about a Mexican family.

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[–] Jermacias 16 years ago

This is based on a true story, so it's just the way it was.

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[–] JoJoSeahorse 16 years ago

It is mentioned in the DVD extras that the original plot called for Johnny to have moved the family to New York because he had been offered a part in a TV series, which subsequently falls through. I don't get the impression they faced much economic hardship in Ireland, certainly not enough to make them move to another country. Johnny obviously was having some success as actor (all right, I will concede that maybe he wasn't making much money from it), Sarah was a teacher, and they appear to have had a house and garden. I would guess that the move to the States would be to kill two birds with one stone; to allow Johnny to pursue his acting career on/off Broadway, and to make a fresh start after suffering the devastating loss of their child. Speaking as one who came here to pursue her own goals, there can be more than one reason :)

I'm a cherry ghost

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[–] RaineBender 15 years ago

I never got the impression that they moved for economic gain. They moved, like the poster before me said, to make a fresh start after the death of their son/brother. Sure they could have gone to Canada but with Johnny's acting wish it's a more logical choice to go to America. Or maybe they simply liked America better than Canada. It was loosley based on the directors own move to America and maybe he had his own reasons to got there and not to Canada. Anyway, does it really matter?

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Bince_19 15 years ago

What the *beep* does reverse racism have to do with their decision to move to N.Y.C.?

"I can only wait for the final amnesia, the one that can erase an entire life." - Luis Buñuel

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[–] martymoves 15 years ago

I'm iterested. Tell me more? I loath the reverse-racism of our global society.

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[–] Simon-140 8 years ago

I guess the author wasn't too bright, and chose a destination without first doing any research about unemployment rates and state health programs.

"Now, now, darlin', don't you worry. I've booked us some plane tickets to Attens, and when we get there, you'll see that all our problems will solve themselves. "

Six months later.

"Oh Jaysus, why did I pick Greece of all countries?!"

____
"If you ain't a marine then you ain't *beep*

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[–] enmasse 14 years ago

Did you even watch the movie? Johnny was a theater actor! Where else in the world will he had a chance??? And not to mention that NY has an energy other cities don't.

^This post and JahWoo's says it all.

I'm also guessing that they were looking for a permanent home. Even successful Canadian actors in real life come to Hollywood or (the more respectable actors to) NYC, which incidentally is not located in Canada or Ireland but in.. The United States.

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[–] maximumcool 14 years ago

Yeah, it's totally because Ireland and Canada aren't good enough for them. Everyone knows that's the way it is! LOL! Relax people. Besides, didn't Sophocles say something about how "Every country gets the government it deserves." So arguably every country also gets the citizens it deserves. You could also argue that every citizen gets the country they deserve. If Ireland and Canada feel bad about people going to the USA maybe they should do something about it. Or maybe people should just QQ less.

--------------------------------------
"Go away or I'll call the brute squad!"

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[–] sik_euphorik 14 years ago

EVERYONE ON THIS THREAD SUCKS.

----When I get back from the bowl store I expect this to be a crab and cancer free zone.----

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[–] MESpiegel 14 years ago

The father is an actor.

Broadway is in New York.
Broadway is (somewhat) known for plays. Plays hire actors, some even become well-paid and famous.

I used to think there was no such thing as a dumb question...

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[–] ExAxLxPx12 14 years ago

guys your are making way to big a deal about this, they wanted a fresh start after Frankie died, New York is a great place for actors, the dad wanted to act. end of story, relax.

~~~~~~~~~~~
see you in another life brotha:)

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] mikeyg24 14 years ago

That's a different argument. Whether they needed to or not is purely for the purposes of the film. I merely meant that America if anywhere would have been the 'go to' place.

Good guys may not finish last but they sure as sh*t don't finish first!

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[–] happyfacefries 13 years ago

Well seeing as he's trying to make into the theater industry, New York would be a good place to be. Don't be so rude, I quite enjoy living in America. Not everyone agrees with your communist or wants your communist rule.

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[–] maeaculpa 13 years ago

The story is loosely based on Jim Sheridan's own experience as a struggling actor in New York with a young family. I guess he left Ireland in the 80s when times were very hard, and learned his trade. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see the world.

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