Into the West

By Desson Howe
Washington Post Staff Writer
September 17, 1993

To 12-year-old Tito and his 8-year-old brother Ossie, the white horse called Tir na nOg is not of this world. The beautiful steed, given to them by their gypsy grandfather, is the finest, most beautiful thing in their lives. So when Tir na nOg (whose Celtic name means The Land of Eternal Youth) is apprehended by a police officer with black-market intentions, it's time for the Dublin lads to rescue their beloved and kindred spirit. "Into the West," which stars Gabriel Byrne as the boys' down-and-depressed father, and Ellen Barkin (as a gypsy who helps Byrne pursue his on-the-lam children), is a charming children's crusade -- a rewarding journey for all ages. Scriptwriter Jim ("My Left Foot") Sheridan and director Mike Newell (who did "Enchanted April") follow the boys' quixotic mission with an acute eye for the drab depression of Dublin's low-income apartment towers, the beautiful countryside beyond it and the hermetic, lore-driven world of the "travelers," a Celtic-originated gypsy tribe. Stuck in a rat-infested flat, Tito and Ossie are forced to abide the drunken, grieving gloom of their recently widowed father, Papa Riley (Byrne). To the boys, the arrival of Tir na nOg is the promise of better things. They listen, enrapt, as their grandfather (David Kelly) recounts the story of the Land of Eternal Youth, the mythical place under the sea where their horse comes from. But to their besotted father, who has rejected his traveler roots, Tir na nOg is just another maintenance problem. When an unscrupulous horse breeder (John Kavanagh) and a conspiring police chief take the horse away, Papa Riley only half-heartedly attempts to retrieve him. Appalled, the boys take matters into their own hands. The result is a sort of Celtic junior version of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," as Tito and Ossie abscond with the horse, hide him under bridges and ride into the sunset, with the authorities -- and their contrite dad -- hot on their heels. They're headed for the west coast, where they intend to help Tir na nOg return to his mythic home under the sea. Spiritually rejuvenated by a reunion with the travelers, Papa Reilly realizes that -- should he find his children -- it's imperative to help them. Despite its twinkly eyed intentions, "Into the West" avoids the cloying, Disneyesque route. This is not a slapstick chase movie full of precious moments between a boy and his horse. The boys' dirty-faced ordeal is a very real, dangerous one, and their naive faith is the only defense against oppressive surroundings. Most of the emotional impact comes from the mutual presence of child actors Ciaran (pronounced "Keeran") Fitzgerald as Ossie, and Ruaidhri ("Rory") Conroy as Tito. With their pluckiness and perky brogue, they make two of the most memorable scalawags to scuffle across the screen in a long time. You can hear their chirrupy voices long after the movie is over.

INTO THE WEST

By Roger Ebert

If I were to tell you that "Into the West" was about two boys and their magical white horse, you would of course think it was a children's film. But it is more than that, although children will enjoy it. The movie is set in a world a little too gritty for innocent animal tales. It concerns two young gypsy boys growing up in the high-rise slums of Dublin, with their father, who loves them but has grown distant and drunken since their mother died. One day their grandfather, who still travels the roads in the ancient way in his horse-drawn gypsy caravan, gives them the gift of a horse. The horse is named Tir na nOg, which means "Land of Eternal Youth," the grandfather explains, although he may be making it up as he goes along. Where are two city boys to keep a horse? In their apartment? Of course! But of course the neighbors complain, and the police are called, and one thing leads to another. Then the horse is stolen by a rich man, who obtains spurious papers for it. The boys see it on television, go to where it is racing, and ride off with it. The rich man offers a $10,000 reward, and all of Ireland follows the story as the two boys and their horse outwit the combined efforts of the rich and powerful. The subtext of the movie involves the gypsy culture in modern Ireland. Known also as tinkers and travelers, the gypsies are often discriminated against, and charged with any crimes that take place even vaguely near to them. For their grandfather (David Kelly), the traveling life is still rich and satisfying, but for their father (Gabriel Byrne), it has been replaced by a form of imprisonment in a high-rise ghetto. The father enlists two friends (Ellen Barkin and Colm Meaney), who remind him of the ancient strengths of the travelers, and what is regained is not only a horse, but a family and a tradition. "Into the West" is one of many interesting films to come from Ireland recently: Remember, for example, "My Left Foot," "Hear My Song," "The Miracle," "The Commitments" and "The Crying Game." It was written by Jim Sheridan, who wrote and directed "My Left Foot," and is directed by Mike Newell, who made "Dance with a Stranger" and "Enchanted April." Sheridan and Newell are not interested in simply shaping the material into an easy commercial form. They're interested in the relationships beneath the surface, and in the way the father is redeemed through the adventure. And yet there is a lot of adventure, as the magnificent horse seems almost able to read the boys' minds, and they think fast, too, the older one (Ciaran Fitzgerald) guiding his younger brother (Rory Conroy) as they avoid the main roads, ford streams to throw off the bloodhounds, and at one point even escape certain capture by taking a detour through the house of some stran