Moondance

Running time: N/A

For brothers Dominic, 14, and Patrick, 21, life is a bucolic idyll. They live in an isolated corner of south-western Ireland. With one parent dead and the other a global wanderer, the boys are free to shape their own world - one in which they are responsible for their own survival, but are also able to roam with their beloved dog, Ishka, playact and roughhouse. One day a nosy aunt shows up on the boy's doorstep with a lovely, young German girl in tow. Her name is Anya, and she is intrigued by the boys and their circumstances. She volunteers to become Dominic's tutor when she learns that he refuses to attend the school in town. Anya and the brothers grow close, spending all their time together in a near-blissful state. It all seems too perfect - too pure - to last. And it doesn't. Two occurrences - one sudden, the other slower in developing - conspire to end their perfect idyll. The boy's mother, finally, returns from her wanderings. Dominic is overjoyed; Patrick resentful that she would decide to disrupt their lives not once but, now, twice. More insidious, though, is the longing that starts to develop within both brothers for the beautiful, strong-willed Anya. The peace and innocence that was is now gone. Feelings of love and trust have been replaced by desire and jealousy. What Dominic and Patrick do to deal with these newfound feelings almost destroys the deep bond they share, together, and each individually. When Dominic is overcome by his own wanderlust and signs on a merchant vessel, it seems that the boys, once so dependent on each other, may part forever. Can this happen? And can it be possible that what once ran so deep between them is also gone, crushed beneath the weight of original sin? Moondance will bowl you over with it's depth and scenic breadth. The first provided, not in small part, by Ruaidhri Conroy, in a knockout performance as Dominic. You might remember him from his acclaimed work in Into the West. Credit for the latter goes to the stunning wilds of West Cork and the winding byways of Dublin. The music of Van Morrison complements all beautifully. --John Porter