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29 June 2009
Song For a Raggy Boy
'Song for a raggy boy' tells the story of William Franklin (Aidan Quinn) a teacher that had fought in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the communists. When he goes to work in a Christian Brothers' run, boys reformatory as the only lay teacher amongst the brothers, he fights against the draconian disciplinary system set by Brother John (Iain Glenn) resembling the state of Spain that he had fought against before. As he teaches the boys how to read and write he gets to learn their dreams and aspirations especially those of Liam Mercier. Meanwhile we follow Patrick Delaney, the new boy at the school (there on charges of truancy and theft)and the daily hardships of his time there.
This film addresses the corrupt nature of the Catholic run reformatory schools in Ireland at that time particularly of the coverup by the church of not only the murder of Liam Mercier by Brother John but also of the sexual abuse suffered by Patrick Delaney at the hands of Brother Mac (Marc Warren).
The film is not black and white in declaring the Catholic Church simply as a 'child abuse factory' but also shows the kindness of other members of the church e.g. Brother Tom (Dudley Sutton).
Although the it is patchy in its all too cliched ending I thought that this was an honest and largely sympathetic view of the abuse suffered by children in Ireland and that the actors (particularly the children) portrayed realistic personalities and that it is a thoroughly incredible achievement of the director. 5 STARS!