A Love Divided
A Love Divided
dir. Sydney Macartney
Ireland, 1999 - 98
Based on a true story, "A Love Divided" is set in a remote seaside village called Wexford in 1950's Ireland. Sean Cloney, a Catholic, and Sheila Kelly, a Protestant, get married, signing the Ne temere pledge, agreeing to bring up their children as Catholics. When their eldest daughter is ready for school, the insistence by the local parish priest causes an argument between the couple, Sheila deciding to take the children and run rather than comply. A furious sectarian row breaks out in the town, soon becoming international news. Even the highest levels of the Irish government and the Vatican get involved. A community, which had hitherto lived in harmony, is split in a bitter conflict.
"A Love Divided" is first and foremost a love story, two people being torn apart in the name of organised religion. But the political aspect of the film has a resonance that works wonderfully too, the pressures brought on by any governing body to conform to their dictated norm showing once again the disregard for individual freedom.
"A Love Divided", a ravishingly beautiful film, conveys both the political and the personal realities of prejudice, and the power of love overcome even the deepest divisions.
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