18/05/2026 - CANNES 2026: Alexander Murphy delivers an compassionate, respectful and superbly shot documentary about an endlessly endearing family of partially settled Travellers

"I’ll be a Traveller until I die". By way of the brilliantly wonderful movie, Tin Castle, unveiled in competition in the 79th Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week line-up, documentary-maker Alexander Murphy has managed to cross the threshold of a door gently swinging in the wind in the heart of the countryside, allowing a wave of children to come and go as they please, as he fully immerses himself in the life of the O'Reilly family, around whom this movie revolves. With great affection and lyricism, as the seasons go by, the director films this phalanx of 12 (the parents, five daughters and five sons, the eldest of whom is 16 years old) who are living in an old mobile home illegally parked on the side of a road, delivering a wholly dignified depiction of these characters whose lives are nonetheless precarious.

"Go with the flow". Heirs to a very long Traveller tradition where looking after horses (trained by way of sulkies) and dogs (for hunting rabbits) plays a central, everyday role in their lives, which are lived away from the world ("beyond the bridge") in the lush meadows and fields of Tipperary county (in the Munster province), this small tribe withstands wind and tide. With a failing generator, the cold of winter, scrapings of welfare money, the temptation to move into a real house, the threat of a court case with the Damoclean sword of a potential prison sentence hanging over the father, maximum promiscuity, and the deep darkness of the night when you never know what might happen, nothing is easy. And whilst the youngest family members might go to school, the older ones are already working, helping their father tend the animals. But though the crown be rusty, the sense of pride that comes with being a Traveller, the passing on of traditions, and their unshakeable solidarity are non-negotiable.

Moving up-close and personal with his camera, Alexander Murphy repays his protagonists’ trust in spades, honouring them with his keen sense for capturing the children’s free, joyful and energetic spontaneity, and his abundant sensitivity when depicting the parents’ concerns. It’s an immersive yet discreet approach, built upon a multitude of sequences which reveal each of their identities and facilitate the composition of an empathy-filled family portrait through tiny kaleidoscopic brushstrokes. Throw in magnificent landscapes (shot by the director himself), brilliantly paced musical interludes (courtesy of Kevin O'Leary and Mathias Levy Valensi and practically mirroring the horses’ hoof beats as they trot along the tarmac) and editing (by Nicolas Longinotti) which highlights the exceptionally creative range of shots employed, and you’ll understand why Pa’, Lisa, Sean, Patrick, Chantelle, Tina, Maggie, Willy, Jimmy, Martin Anthony, Scarlett Rose and MacKenzie are bound to enter into Traveller mythology in style.

Tin Castle was produced by French firm Goodseed Productions and Ireland’s Samson Films. Films Boutique are steering world sales.

(Translated from French)