Ryan's Daughter (1970)

Fairly simple story: free-spirit falls for older schoolteacher (played by Robert Mitchum!) who, despite knowing full well that he's not what the girl is hoping for, marries her. But this is a small Irish town and the young wife yearns for MORE, without even know what that more might be. When a young British war hero gets stationed nearby, she grabs at the chance for adventure.

There's just so much here. My heart was breaking and I was angry at the small minds and the casual cruelty and then more deliberate cruelty of what's supposed to be a community. A gorgeous film to look at and a beautiful story to experience. I had to get past the actor playing the war hero being a bit of a stiff, but that wasn't too big of a challenge.

A-