In addition to the importance of the folktale within Irish cinema there is an underlying theme of hope and courage that is provided through the integration of the western myth into these cinematic works. The characters in both movies are hoping for a different life and are trying to understand the past while finding the courage to explore the future. In both movies, the main characters are exploring unfamiliar western regions of Ireland in the hopes of understanding past tragedies in their lives and finding solace. Both Irish films are characterized by “an incomplete family and it is only in the west and in rejecting the alienating confines of the city that the malaise afflicting the two families can be eased (McLoone, 211). In
Into the West
, two young brothers (Ossie and Tito) journey into Western Ireland with the help of a magical stallion. Initially, the boys attempt to hide their horse within the confined space of their city apartment. Although the boys are resistant, the authorities arrive and demand the immediate removal of the horse from the premises. Thus, the boys begin their journey toward western Ireland and the coast. Unbeknownst to them, the horse takes the boys on a journey into their past. The boys are forced to recognize their own ancestral roots, which had previously been stifled by the modernity of the east. The boys were travelers (groups of Irish people who traveled from one place to another throughout Ireland). Their magical journey into the past eventually helps bring their family together again through the guidance of a magical horse who ultimately is the reincarnation of their deceased mother protecting her sons and husband from a life of unhappiness and desolation. The west represents hope for a different and more fortunate life; a life that helps the boys understand the death of their mother and the demise of their father, Papa Riley. The idea of the west representing hope and a better life has been embedded within the young boy’s mind, as well as the audiences, through the boys’ obsession with watching the old American westerns. Ironically, the father disapproves of the boys watching so many westerns and forbids it. Determined to continue this obsession, the boys are satisfied with watching the westerns through a hole in the wall of their apartment. Their persistence is reflective of their need to journey into the west and unveil their Irish ancestry and traditions.
In
The Secret of Roan Inish
, a distraught father sends his daughter to her grandparents’ house in a rural region of Ireland to seek solace and find a new beginning. Ten-year old Fiona becomes entranced by the mystique of her native island, located off the coast of western Ireland. Consequentially, she is intrigued by the superstitious folk tales, specifically about the selkies, that her grandfather and neighbors retell. Having suffered through the death of both her brother and her mother, Fiona is seeking comfort from her past and hoping for a better future. She persuades her grandfather to allow her to visit her past by journeying by sea to this “western” mythical place which she calls home. There, Fiona begins to find solace in what she perceives to be unworldly and mythical messages from her past. Having journeyed into the western regions of Ireland, Fiona acknowledges the existence of a symbolic relationship between the east and the west and a need for a balance between tradition and modernity. The grandmother represents someone who has separated herself from her family’s traditions and beliefs in search of what was believed to be a more promising future in
modern
Ireland. Having migrated to the city in search of work, the grandmother has left her history behind and is distraught that Fiona pursues what the grandmother has so meticulously tried to disregard. Fiona is seeking solace and trying to understand the tragic occurrences in her young life. In doing so, she delves into her family’s past and forces herself and others on a magical journey that provides reconciliation between tradition and modernity. It is apparent that it is the integration of the past and present that allows for character development and growth.