This Is the Sea (1997)

**_A Protestant girl and Catholic boy during The Troubles of Ireland_**

This was written & directed by Mary McGuckian, who went on to helm “The Bridge of San Luis Rey” eight years later. Most people seem to hate that disregarded flick, but I appreciated it. This one is along the lines of “The Run of the Country,” which was shot the previous year, mixed with The Troubles element of the soon-to-come “The Boxer.”

The storytelling strangely keeps the viewer at arm’s length, but winsome Samantha Morton tends to keep your attention. She was 18 during shooting and is, basically, the 90s’ British version of 80s’ Jodie Foster.

On the masculine front, Richard Harris’ character is interesting as the quirky neighbor of Hazel’s conservative family and liberal facilitator of her relationship with the Catholic boy. Meanwhile Gabriel Byrne is impressively nonchalant as a nationalist who tries to recruit Hazel’s new beau into the perilous work of Irish republicans.

The odd title of the movie stems from the 1985 song & album by the folk-rock band The Waterboys. The line “This was the river, this is the sea” relates to leaving “the river” of The Troubles and entering into the supposed “peace” of the new era of “the sea.” The music of The Waterboys and main-man Mike Scott can be heard throughout. Two songs by Belfast’s Brian Kennedy are also featured, who even appears as the singer at the nightclub.

It runs 1h 40m and was shot in late summer 1995 at County Wicklow on the central-east coast of Ireland, as well just north of there in Dublin, and County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, including Belfast.

GRADE: B-