The Pier

Your father is dying.... Like every son, Jack McCarthy drops everything and hops on a flight to Ireland from the United States. But after jolting along to the remote village where he was born, the first thing he sees is his father Larry standing in a pasture driving golf balls. He’s none too happy about it. Jack spent the last money he had on a one-way ticket and he doesn’t appreciate his father’s trick, especially since they haven’t spoken for 20 years. Jack would take off immediately but financial straits force him to stay for at least a while and live under one roof with his father. Their stormy relationship is marked by an inability to talk about the past, which is painful for both of them and drove them apart years earlier. But the time has come when understanding becomes a necessity. And it’s not easy dealing with pigheaded Larry.... The director returned to the land of his youth, and portrayed the uneasy process of coming to terms with the past and the approaching end of one’s life with concision, exceptional personal conviction, and the help of the rugged beauty of the Irish countryside. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)