Song for a Raggy Boy

SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY is a very grim story based on true events. Aidan Quinn plays William Franklin, who on his return from the Spanish Civil War takes a job at a boys Catholic Reform School in 1939 Ireland. He soon witnesses the priests systematic cruelty and abuse of the boys, but is warned to ignore it. The chilling, villainous performance of Iain Glen as Brother John, the Head of Discipline, is in marked contrast to Franklin's warmer relationship with the typically rapscallion boys. Peter Mullen's THE MAGDALEN SISTERS told a similar tale of abuse passed off as discipline, but what sets this apart is the director's choice to retain from the book Franklin's flashbacks to the Spanish Civil war, reflecting his own damaged psyche. (official distributor synopsis)