upon taking a seat at the theater , and surveying the crowd , i soon realized that i was the only person under forty in the premises . 
i'm twenty-two , but have been accused of looking sixteen . 
yet as the film began , any consciousness of setting shifted to the home of five close-knit , yet troubled sisters . 
director pat o'connor ( inventing the abbots , circle of friends ) weaves a quiet yet affecting tale of loss , need , and the bonds between five sisters . 
the family is ruled by kate ( meryl streep ) , an unconsciously strict schoolteacher , who is completely conscious of the deterioration of her family . 
there is very little background given to the viewer , as we are thrust into a tense but loving home . 
squabbles take place one after the other , caused by years and years of history . 
perhaps one of the best things about this film , is its naturalness . 
no situation is over-wrought , and characters react as real people do , to real problems . 
this probably is a result of the film being from a stage play . 
the play was in turn is based on a time in the life of the playwright . 
what seems to be an underlying theme are the pagan rituals and dances of peoples , both in lughnasa and africa . 
in fact , dance seems to be the glue that holds the family together and most expressively shows their closeness . 
legs tap , and bodies sway even in the midst of impending disaster . 
only after the music stops , and the characters stand breathing heavily do we sense any trouble . 
in the quiet after the music we muse that it's sad that music has to cease , and families falter . 
the movie is framed by a scene of michael mundy , the narrator of the movie , as a young child flying a kite . 
he trips over a bump and loses hold of his string , and the kite floats off farther into the distance . 
drawn on the white diamond of the kite is a face that looks at once pained , and at another glance mischievous . 
the mundy family itself follows a similar fate to that of the kite , and kate's hold of the family isn't strong enough to hold off the winds of change . 
as michael stands , staring at his kite fly away , we hear the adult michael , looking back at the season that his world changed forever . 
the movie is not overpowering , but it gives us a beautiful window into the life , love , and trouble of a household of lonely women . 
note : this is the first movie review i've ever written , any responses on it would be greatly appreciated . 
 : )