Emily Watson gives a commanding performance in this traditional Irish mother-son drama

The quiet of a seaside village in the Irish islands where the livelihood activity lies in fishing and in the processing of the catch is suddenly disturbed by the death of a young fisherman.

While in Mary's family they pray as much as befits this Irish land, the unexpected death is followed by the return of his son Brian who has been an immigrant to Australia for many years.

Reunited mother and son decide to restore the oyster farm abandoned by their father and grandfather.

Not everyone is as thrilled to welcome him back as his mother Aileen. In the screenplay, a piece of Brian's past on his native island is expertly introduced.

This is a concern for the mother that is well described in the mother-son reports.

It must be said that the poignant landscape of Donegal is an integral part and helps the story finally take off. As mentioned the film is shot in Donegal, which replaces the Kerry. But with its timelessness and insularity, this could be any remote community, even if the topography is identifiable. A string-laden score is an eloquent accompaniment to this family drama.

The small and wild fishing village in Kerry is the center of an elementary and timeless drama in a scathing story that uses a mix of superstition and religion (fishermen refuse to learn to swim, but the blessing of the boats is an event not to be missed), this is old Ireland meeting new as its women struggle mightily against the status quo.

The premiere in Cannes in the independent section Quinzaine des Realisaetur allowed the launch of this story which addresses the urgent theme of the diaspora and the themes of “Prodigal Son”.