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Product Description
Fergus (Mark Womack) returns to his native Liverpool for the funeral of his childhood friend Frankie, a fellow private security contractor who has been killed on "Route Irish", the deadly and now infamous stretch of road between Baghdad airport and the Green Zone.
ROUTE IRISH is a fast-paced conspiracy thriller that delivers a fresh insight into the moral and political corruption at play in Iraq.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Dolby DTS-HD Master Audio ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Celebrated British filmmaker Ken Loach explore the controversies of his nation's role in the war in Iraq in this intelligent thriller. Fergus (Mark Womack) served with distinction in a British Special Forces outfit in Iraq, and after his hitch in the Army ended, Fergus was approached by a private security firm working with civilian contractors in the war zone. Fergus wasn't interested in returning to Iraq, but when he was offered £10,000 a month for his services, he changed his mind, and persuaded his army buddy Frankie (John Bishop) to also sign on. Fergus came to regret his decision when Frankie died after hitting an improvised explosive device while traveling on Route Irish, the treacherous road between Baghdad's airport and the heavily fortified Green Zone. While attending Frankie's funeral, Fergus is approached by a woman who gives him Frankie's old cell phone, which holds a startling video of Iraqi civilians being murdered by employees of the same security firm that employed him and Frankie. Fergus believes there's a connection between the video and Frankie's death, and sets out to find it with the help of Frankie's widow Rachel (Andrea Lowe) and Harim (Talib Rasool), an Iraqi refugee. But the top men at the firm are not about to admit any wrongdoing, and uncovering what really happens proves to be a difficult and taxing process. Route Irish received its world premiere at the 2010. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Cannes Film Festival, ...Route Irish (2010) ( Irlandezikos dromos ) ( L'altra verità ) (Blu-Ray)
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a film about personal loss and the effect of combat, but unfortunately this tends to slip behind the outlines of a Death Wish revenge story. From the very beginning of the film the hero acts like he has escaped from a Harry Enfield "Barry, Gary and Terry" sketch, he cooks off at the drop of a hat. His responses are highly neurotic and very aggressive ultimately going as far as car-bombing and torture. This gives the film a febrile quality; Fergus appears to be solving the mystery of his chum's death, but do not be fooled, this is not a rational detective story but a descent into sadness and madness. I think the audience needs to be alerted to this a lot earlier in the piece; this is not The Shooter, it's a film about personal tragedy. The effect is that I thought more about its message after watching it than I did during viewing: in some ways its variable mixture of logic and emotion matching that of the hero.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Tommy D
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
Yes 'Route Irish' is the name of the road to Bagdad International Airport, and is seen as the most dangerous road etc. However, we see very little of that and as others have commented, there is very little action indeed, in this film.
Ken Loach is an excellent director and I am a loyal fan, this film though does not really deliver what it promises to do, I may have been generous in a four star rating. So what is wrong?
Well it is about the death of a private security guard in Iraq (played by `comedian' John Bishop), and his best mate, who does not believe the official version. He sets out to find out who really killed his friend. He has been in a fight and whilst awaiting trial has his passport confiscated, therefore the entire story is based in Liverpool. He uses the internet and meetings with his former bosses to uncover more and more. The previous events are told in periodic flash backs, and are short but important.
This is a story about lies, deception, trust and profit. The private guards are referred to as `soldiers for peace' at one point, and not as soldiers for profit as is more accurate (they are on £10,000 per month). There are references to torture tactics and actual footage of fighting and victims from Iraq, but it does take its time getting there. The acting is all wsell above average and the whole thing is belivable but just a little unfulfilling.
I would like to pour praise on this, but I liked it more for being a Loach film, than being a film in itself. If you are a fan you may find merit here, if you are new to him, then you would be probably best advised to give this one a miss.
Ken Loach is an excellent director and I am a loyal fan, this film though does not really deliver what it promises to do, I may have been generous in a four star rating. So what is wrong?
Well it is about the death of a private security guard in Iraq (played by `comedian' John Bishop), and his best mate, who does not believe the official version. He sets out to find out who really killed his friend. He has been in a fight and whilst awaiting trial has his passport confiscated, therefore the entire story is based in Liverpool. He uses the internet and meetings with his former bosses to uncover more and more. The previous events are told in periodic flash backs, and are short but important.
This is a story about lies, deception, trust and profit. The private guards are referred to as `soldiers for peace' at one point, and not as soldiers for profit as is more accurate (they are on £10,000 per month). There are references to torture tactics and actual footage of fighting and victims from Iraq, but it does take its time getting there. The acting is all wsell above average and the whole thing is belivable but just a little unfulfilling.
I would like to pour praise on this, but I liked it more for being a Loach film, than being a film in itself. If you are a fan you may find merit here, if you are new to him, then you would be probably best advised to give this one a miss.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
An honourable but flawed exploration of the illegal invasion of Iraq
7 April 2012
Format:DVD
There is an element of the Reed's Third Man about this movie in its dealings with the aftermath of war and a conspiracy. It also begins with a funeral when Fergus (Mark Womack) an ex soldier and mercenary shows up to the funeral of his best friend and fellow mercenary Frankie (John Bishop). Finding the accounts of Frankie's death in Iraq unsatisfying, Fergus starts his own investigation.
The purpose of this movie is considerably more political than Carol Reed's earlier masterpiece, exploring the devastation brought on Iraq by the 2003 invasion and particularly by the invading forces profligate use of mercenaries. The hypocrisy of the west is also touched upon: as an Iraqi character Harim (Talib Rasool) indicates - thousands of Iraqis were murdered as a consequence of the invasion, what makes the killings at the core of this movie interesting to Fergus, and by extension the audience, is that one of the casualties was British.
Mark Womack delivers a frentic performance in this movie as a man driven to murderous rage by guilt. Andrea Lowe is a more nuanced presence delivering a beautifully subtle performance as Frankie's widow, Rachel. Fergus's fury echoes that of the movie itself, rendering both, at moments, less articulate and coherent that one would hope. Still the movie is an honourable exploration of the consequences of the illegal invasion of Iraq by a director, Ken Loach, whose work has consistently embodied what is best about British society.
The purpose of this movie is considerably more political than Carol Reed's earlier masterpiece, exploring the devastation brought on Iraq by the 2003 invasion and particularly by the invading forces profligate use of mercenaries. The hypocrisy of the west is also touched upon: as an Iraqi character Harim (Talib Rasool) indicates - thousands of Iraqis were murdered as a consequence of the invasion, what makes the killings at the core of this movie interesting to Fergus, and by extension the audience, is that one of the casualties was British.
Mark Womack delivers a frentic performance in this movie as a man driven to murderous rage by guilt. Andrea Lowe is a more nuanced presence delivering a beautifully subtle performance as Frankie's widow, Rachel. Fergus's fury echoes that of the movie itself, rendering both, at moments, less articulate and coherent that one would hope. Still the movie is an honourable exploration of the consequences of the illegal invasion of Iraq by a director, Ken Loach, whose work has consistently embodied what is best about British society.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
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Published 9 months ago by Good book
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Published 18 months ago by Orchard Gate
2.0 out of 5 stars
A conspiracist's dream but decidedly average movie
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Published 19 months ago by Samarees Sword
4.0 out of 5 stars
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Published 19 months ago by N. Alterskye
4.0 out of 5 stars
in the fine tradition of ken loach
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Good story.
I would have been disapointed if I'd gone to the cinema to watch this. As a tv movie or a weekly tv serial it is very good. Read more
Published 20 months ago by J. Lynch
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