Ryan’s Daughter (1970)

10/10

Director: David Lean

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, Christopher Jones, Trevor Howard, John Mills, Leo McKern

Critics didn’t care for Lean’s follow-up to Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. I did. If there’re any flaws it’s the similarity with Zhivago and the soundtrack, which while enjoyable isn’t Jarre’s best work.

The film depicts village life better than any other except maybe The Last Picture Show. Beneath the incredibly beautiful setting and cinematography are themes of faithlessness, infirmity, treachery, powerlessness, and dashed hopes – Ireland under the British.

Events take place during World War One. There’s a collision between partners in an unconsummated marriage (Mitchum and Miles), a British officer (Jones), and the villagers’ nationalist aspirations.

Lean’s famous transition shot in Lawrence of Arabia has a match going out, then the desert sun rising. He inverts this here. Jones’s character watches the sun go down as he holds a blasting cap near a case of explosives. The sun slips beneath the horizon, the camera shifts to Mitchum and Miles. Mitchum lights a lamp and an explosion sounds in the distance.

The storm sequence is spectacular. I see that Lean waited a year for a suitable gale, and it was worth it. I also see that Jones was in a dark mood because his former girlfriend was murdered during filming – Sharon Tate. I thought he did well as the British officer haunted by his experiences in France.

Brian M Downing is a national security analyst who’s written for outlets across the political spectrum. He studied at Georgetown University and the University of Chicago, and did post-graduate work at Harvard’s Center for International Affairs.