Song for a Raggy Boy
| Song for a Raggy Boy | |
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DVD Cover for Song for a Raggy Boy
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| Directed by | Aisling Walsh |
| Written by | Aisling Walsh Kevin Byron Murphy based on the book by Patrick Galvin |
| Starring |
Aidan Quinn Iain Glen Marc Warren Stuart Graham Alan Devlin Dudley Sutton |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 min. |
| Country | Ireland |
| Language | English |
Song For a Raggy Boy is a 2003 Irish drama film directed by Aisling Walsh. It is based on the book of the same name by Patrick Galvin and is based on true events.
The film is set in 1939, on the brink of World War II, in the St. Judes Reformatory School, a ruthless Irish school for boys. Grey, gloomy and ruled by the sadistic Brother John (Iain Glen), the school prefers punishment to rehabilitation. But new lay teacher William Franklin (Aidan Quinn), fresh from the frontline of the Spanish Civil War, fights to liberate the boys from their oppressors.
Two young boys have key roles in the film. Patrick Delaney 743 (Chris Newman) arrives at the school aged 13 and a half. He, like all the boys, is allocated a number which the brothers use. Franklin, however, always uses the boys' names. Delaney is an attractive boy and he receives the unwelcome attentions of a pedophile brother, Brother Mac (Marc Warren), who molests and rapes the boy in the school toilets. The boy tells of his ordeal to a visiting priest in confession only to be told not to say a word to anyone. Word of Delaney's confession reaches Brother Mac who punishes the boy by forcing him under a cold shower naked, then giving him his clothes so they are also wet.
The other boy is Liam Mercier 636 (John Travers). Mercier is one of the few boys who can read and write, but is otherwise a hard case. Franklin befriends the boy and interests him in poetry, some of it written by communist sympathisers. Mercier and Franklin both challenge the authority of Brother John - Mercier by protesting at the vicious beating of two brothers on Christmas Day, and Franklin by stepping in and actually stopping the whipping. Brother John bides his time and, having tricked Mercier into coming out of class, beats him continuously in front of Brother Mac in the refectory. Franklin is eventually told by Brother Mac that Mercier is in the refectory after which Franklin discovers Mercier's dead body. He carries the corpse out of the room.
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