\nOne evening C\u00e1it overhears her parents and learns that her father would like to place her somewhere else. Shortly after, her mother reads a handwritten letter and C\u00e1it is brought to her mother’s cousin’s house without any further information or a noteworthy farewell from the family.\u00a0Her father, who brought her there by car, gets out of the car and tries to have a rather put-upon dialogue with the man about the current hot weather, while his daughter continues to linger in the car without him giving her a single glance.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/berlinhimmel.de\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Berlinale_Generation_An_Cailin_Ciuin_3.jpg\")
A few minutes pass before the aforementioned cousin (Eibhl\u00edn) appears at the car and offers her hand to C\u00e1it. For the first time, it seems, someone comes to her eye level and pays attention to her. Visibly unsettled, she gets out of the car and Eibhl\u00edn looks her up and down, but she remains very gentle and friendly towards the child. She tells her that the last time she saw C\u00e1it was when she was still in the baby carriage. Eibhl\u00edn gives her a lot of love, but her husband Se\u00e1n is initially rather distant and would rather have nothing to do with the child. But something seems to preoccupy him when he sees the girl. Eventually, the ice slowly breaks for him too and in the end he passes her one day to go to the stable. As a small sign, he leaves a cookie on the table, which C\u00e1it immediately puts in his pocket. From now on, C\u00e1it literally begins to blossom. A smile appears on her face more and more often.<\/p>\n Then, one day, when she attends a wake to which her foster parents have taken her, she learns from another person the couple’s hitherto guarded secret. C\u00e1it realizes that even in the best families there are fates that must be dealt with. C\u00e1it’s fate is that her time with the foster parents will also end again, because her time out was only intended for the school vacations.<\/p>\n Conclusion: Actors: Director:
\nHer father, on the other hand, has not a single good word to say, tells her that this child will eat the hair off her head, and finally leaves the farm without a word or an affectionate farewell, as one would expect from a parent.\u00a0Over the next few days, C\u00e1it experiences a completely different life. She is cared for, gets clean laundry, her needs are taken care of, and her mishaps, unlike what she expects every time, are never reproached.\u00a0Eibhl\u00edn gives her a lot of love, whereas her husband Se\u00e1n acts rather distant and obviously would rather have nothing to do with the child. Something, however, seems to preoccupy him when he sees the girl. In the end, he slowly breaks the ice and one day leaves a small cookie on the table, which C\u00e1it immediately puts in her pocket. From now on, C\u00e1it literally begins to blossom. More and more often you can see a smile on her face.
\nShe also experiences for the first time that you can take care of your fellow human beings. Someone from the village died and Eibhl\u00edn immediately set out to help. A few days later, all three go to a wake to say goodbye to the deceased. As the event drags on and C\u00e1it is visibly tired, Eibhl\u00edn accepts a friend’s offer to take the child home to her two children. On the way there, the two have enough time to talk and the woman uses this time to completely question the girl about Eibhl\u00edn and suddenly the question arises in which room C\u00e1it sleeps and whether there would still be clothes of a boy hanging in the closet. C\u00e1it is visibly confused, which the woman of course notices, and so she reports an incident that the couple is very reluctant to talk about.\u00a0C\u00e1it realizes that even in the best families there can be fates that one must somehow come to terms with. C\u00e1it’s fate is that her time with the foster parents will one day also be over again…<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/berlinhimmel.de\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Berlinale_Generation_An_Cailin_Ciuin_2.jpg\")
\n<\/b>An Cail\u00edn Ci\u00fain is a very emotional and strong film from Ireland and, by the way, the very first film from this country that has ever been shown at the Berlinale, since very few films are produced in Ireland.
\nIt shows particularly sensitively how even small gestures of everyday life can be enough for great happiness. Everything you get to see, you feel very strongly with this film and that from the beginning to the end.
\nI was also particularly impressed by all the small details throughout the film. Again and again the camera catches these small moments in close-up, mostly accompanied by a wonderful soft soundtrack, so that you sink deeper and deeper into the cinema seat. In one scene, when C\u00e1it walks through the house for the first time, I felt reminded of Alice in Wonderland. The child explores a completely new and strange world in which he can now calmly find himself in order to continue in real life.
\nEven though An Cail\u00edn Ci\u00fain is a rather quiet film, in the end, figuratively speaking, the feeling is very loud.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>Catherine Clinch (C\u00e1it)
\nCarrie Crowley (Eibhl\u00edn)
\nAndrew Bennett (Se\u00e1n)
\nMichael Patric (Da)
\nKate Nic Chonaonaigh (Mam)
\nJoan Sheehy (\u00dana)<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>Colm Bair\u00e9ad<\/p>\n