A man returns home after years of incarceration, having completed his sentence but his victim's relatives have yet to find their lost one. He says he can't remember what happened. Good casting, good acting, but so slowly paced in order to get out this basic tale of guilt and, possible repentance? I got through it by fast forwarding the flick. In a theater I would have glanced at my watch a thousand times or at the slightest invitation fallen asleep. There is a basic technical question one would ask, assuming that the action takes place in the latter part of the Twentieth Century or the early Twenty-First, there are no cell phones involved, so it's hard to tell. But certain searches for underground items can be augmented powerfully by equipment or, dogs? No dogs in this part of Ireland apparently. Compare this story to a very similar but much richer story in the movie "Winter's Bone". That movie was much richer in character and place, while concentrating far more on a single protagonist. Final impression it's a drawn out stage play of sorts. I'd watch the actors again, but be very wary of the writer director producer. Not enough story here.

Nice to see Irish films like this. Interesting plot and acting was quite good. The film is slow but if you allow yourself to go with it it is a very pleasant experience. Good Irish film.

The Dig: This film deserves to be seen as Folk Horror due to how a Fairy Tree in a circle of stones influence the progression of its narrative. Ronan (Moe Dunford) returns to a dilapidated farmhouse which is adjacent to bogland. A man is digging on the bog, sections staked out with flags. Seán (Lorcan Cranitch) is searching for his lost daughter, Ronan recently released from prison was convicted of her murder. At first the two clash violently but Ronan joins in the dig as he has no memory of the night of the murder due to being drunk. Seán's daughter Roberta (Emily Taafe) also reluctantly accepts Ronan's presence, they had once been friends and perhaps more. But the relationship between the three is an ongoing rollercoaster of emotions. There is also violence from locals and the local police chief Murphy (Francis Magee).



This film seems to be set in the border counties of Ireland, yet it is a not-Ireland, neither North or South. Murphy, heavily bearded, always in rough plain clothes, a pistol at his hip, is more like a Sheriff. Maintaining the law with his boots, fists and a gun when necessary. A Beckettian Bog Western where the participants wallow in the mud searching for something which might not even be there. Seán makes a drink with berries picked from the Fairy Tree in the belief that it will restore his memory. Ronan accepts the elixir, sharing Seán's faith in the old ways. The Fairy Trr and the surrounding land is very much hallowed ground in this peasant society. Dark secrets in many senses are uncovered as the film progresses.

Directors: Andy and Ryan Tohill, working from a screenplay by Stuart Drennan have delivered a dark gem, The Field for the 21st Century. 8.5/10.