Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786300270503 Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC ISBN: 6300270505 Label: Warner Home Video Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Warner Home Video Release Date: September 01, 1998 Running Time: 102 minutes Studio: Warner Home Video Theatrical Release Date: August 24, 1984 Sales Rank: 10655
Amazon.com: Cal remains one of the finest films ever made about Ireland's contemporary troubles. It's a melancholy drama about a gentle 19-year-old Catholic in Northern Ireland (the title character, subtly played by John Lynch) who's haunted by his involvement with the IRA. He's attracted to a local widow (Helen Mirren) whose husband was murdered by an IRA assassin; Cal was a reluctant accessory to the killing. The attraction grows mutual between these lonely souls, but Cal's secret--and their inability to extract themselves from Ireland's violence--makes it impossible for love to blossom. Sensitively directed by Pat O'Connor, and enhanced by Mark Knopfler's fine, understated score, Cal tells a familiar story with quiet power and compassionate balance. Mirren, who won the Best Actress award at the Cannes film festival, matches Lynch with tender love in an atmosphere of hate. As Ireland continues to heal its political wounds, Cal is a quiet reminder that progress has been slow and rife with personal tragedy. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Unforgettable
This is one of the saddest, most beautiful movies I've ever seen. John Lynch and Helen Mirren give radiant performances and bring human faces to the struggle that is no-win for everyone. The members ... Read More
Rating: - A Small Film with a Huge Heart
I saw Cal when it came out in 1984 at the Harvard Square Theatre, back when it specialized in classic American films, what we call now independent films, and small foreign movies. That theatre in this ... Read More
Rating: - Once you come inside, there' s no way out!
This superb gem deals with the tribulations, disappointments and disillusions once the ideals face against the crude reality. John lynch is Cal a teenage boy who wants to sever his ties with the IRA. But ... Read More
Rating: - disapointing
since i've never heard of it, and being an american of irish-catholic decent naturally i was excited! with an amazon "5 star" rating, i was ready for something like "in the name of the father" or "michael ... Read More
Rating: - Deliberate, concise, bleak filmmaking
A sad but engaging story about a sensitive young Irish lad, who reluctantly works for the local IRA, and helps kill a policeman, only to later find himself befriended by the man's unsuspecting family. The ... Read More
- Unforgettable
- A Small Film with a Huge Heart
- disapointing