The
Secret of Roan Inish is an American independent film written and
directed by John Sayles, and released in 1994. It's based on the novel The
Secret of Ron Mor Skerry, by Rosalie K. Fry. It is centered on the Irish and
Orcadian folklores of selkies—seals that can shed their skins to become
human. The story, set on the west coast of Ireland, is about Fiona, a young
girl who is sent to live with her grandparents near the island of Roan Inish,
where the selkies are rumored to reside. It is an old family legend that her
younger brother was swept away in his infancy and raised by a selkie. Part
of the film takes place in Donegal. The movie has been widely praised for
its uniqueness and its breathtaking cinematography filmed by Haskell Wexler.
The story is told from the point-of-view of Fiona — played by
Jeni Courtney — a young girl who is sent to live with her grandparents in an
Irish fishing village. Her grandfather weaves tall tales about the family's
evacuation from their home on the tiny island of Roan Inish and his great-great
grandfather, who once cheated death at the hands of the sea. As she meets other
villagers, Fiona hears more personal stories about an ancestor who married a
beautiful, part-human/part-seal, and more about how the sea stole her baby
brother during the departure from Roan Inish. Later, Fiona believes that she has
found Jamie romping in the grass on Roan Inish, and she must convince the family
of her vision.
Although in the original novel the story takes place in Scotland, the filmmakers
decided to have the film take place in Ireland for practical reasons.
Critic Stephen Holden, of The New York Times, liked the film's direction. He
wrote, "The Secret of Roan Inish is the first film directed by Mr. Sayles that
could be described as visually rhapsodic. Photographed by Haskell Wexler on
Ireland's rugged northwestern seacoast, it is a cinematic tone poem in which man
and nature, myth and reality flow together in a way that makes them ultimately
indivisible.
A beautiful story, that captures the selkie legend with a
touch of innocence. 5 Golden Stars
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