Is it too soon to include so recent a movie? Not when it’s this extraordinary. A wrenchingly beautiful Irish immigrant drama, it re-creates the titular 1950s-era borough in all its melting-pot diversity (and Dodgers-loving Italian boyfriends), while also giving the 21-year-old Saoirse Ronan the kind of role—romantically conflicted, blooming, courageously open—that transforms young stars into icons.
Before the turn of the millennium it was rare for an Irish film to reach an international audience. It still doesn’t happen often. But when one does, it sticks with you. Consider the unspoken romance of Once, or Daniel Day-Lewis’s star-making turn in Jim Sheridan’s My Left Foot, or the unforgettable reveal in The Crying Game. Whether romantic, comedic, animated or musical, the best movies of the Emerald Isle are invested with a certain kind of soul, one that encompasses centuries of history and the idiosyncrasies of its people. Looking for one to watch this St Patrick’s Day? Here are 12 of the best.
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