Man of Aran Reviews

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was included in the ‘They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?’ list, I was quite eager to check it out. I have to admit that I had never heard of the Aran islands before but it definitely didn’t seem to be the most welcoming place to live. On the other hand, I already saw a couple of movies directed by Robert J. Flaherty, especially the impressive ‘Nanook of the North’. Eventually, the guy was rightfully considered as the precursor of the modern documentaries, even if there was always something fake in pretty much all his movies. For example, in this case, even though the shark hunting was quite spectacular, it was apparently something they haven’t done for many years, even decades. However, there was one thing that wasn’t fake and it was the sea itself. Indeed, I can’t remember the last time I saw such incredible sea footage showing how the sea can be and, apparently, always is raging at these remote Irish islands. Especially at the beginning, you get to see this family of fishermen going back and forth trying to retrieve some net and this scene was just so weird and yet quite mesmerizing at the same time. It’s too bad the copy I saw on YouTube was pretty weak (on the other hand, I should have maybe lower my expectations since this movie is almost 100 years old). However, even so, the damned thing was still visually quite impressive. To be honest, you don’t get the opportunity to really get to know the people involved in this movie but it was rather impressive how cheerful and seemingly happy they seemed to be. Anyway, to conclude, as usual with Flaherty, I really enjoyed this vintage documentary and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.