The way violence is delt in “Michael Collins” and “The Wind That Shakes The Barley”

“Michael Collins” and “the wind that shakes the barley" are two movies which deal with the same subject : the war between Irish and British , the peace treaty of 1921 and the civil war, opposing nationalists and partisans of the treaty.
Michael Collins was directed by Neil Jordan, an Irish movie maker and released in 1997. The movie is named after an American revolutionary Irish leader. Michael Collins took part in the negotiations of the Anglo Irish treaty and was then member of the temporary Irish government and leader of the Irish national army. The movie is about his role during the time Ireland became independent.
The wind that shakes the Barely is more recent. It was directed by Ken Loach and got the golden palm at the festival of Cannes in 2006. It is the story of an irish village in the 10’ and 20’.
Ireland has a very violent past, which makes it a very specific country in Europe. Both movies try to portray this violence to the audience. Sometimes they use the same tools to achieve their aim but these two movies also have their own specificity. This will be the subject of this analysis.

1. THE SIMILARITIES WHERE VIOLENCE IS CONCERNED

1.1 The use of similar tools

1.1.1 The enhancement of violence by means of contrasts

In both movies, violence is emphasized by the contrast between quiet moments and sudden outbursts of violence.

In Michael Collins scenes of violence are always mingled with everyday life scenes.

For instance, a long scene where Michael Collins and Kitty are spending a sleepless night in a fancy hotel is cut by scenes of extreme violence where the “apostles” (that means the soldiers of Michael Collins) were killing British army members.

Scenes like this, where violence contrasts with moments of peace, are scattered all over the film.

The most noticeable one, is the one where kitty is choosing her wedding dress, while Michal