Abode

Bluesky

What does home mean to you? Director Liam O Mochain begins by offering us familiar images. A flight of stairs leading up a close. A yale lock on a door. Coat pegs. A shower – if you’ve ever been homeless, you’ll know what a big deal that is. He lets his camera drift around an apartment, taking in furniture, books, pieces of clothing – even the elephant in the room. Then, having established this comfortable order, he casts us out onto the streets of Dublin for the first of five stories which invite us to expand our definition of home.

They range from gritty realism to slick black humour in a tale which not so long ago would have been considered science fiction. They all provide some element of entertainment and, dare one say it, warmth. O Mochain is a seasoned actor as well as a director – he makes a brief appearance onscreen here – and these are films crafted to let the capable cast make the most of their talents. Though the fourth one slips by lightly, an intentional opportunity for viewers to relax, all of the others have strong emotional resonance with characters you can get close to despite the brevity of their stories.

Part of this is down to the sense O Mochain creates of life extending beyond the frame. We encounter several of the characters in places where other people are coming and going. There is talk of yesterday and tomorrow – sometimes of experiences from decades ago. Detailed set design makes each location distinctive and personal, giving it a history which tells us more about the personalities involved that we have time to witness directly. The whole anthology feels lived-in, creating an immediate intimacy with the viewer.

In a similar way, the films encourage us to notice the little things that people miss about one another – or, in some cases, deliberately choose not to show. Joy can be a precious secret, whilst sorrow is borne with stoicism, even when loved ones might prefer it to be shared. It’s a reminder of how much we don’t know about the people we meet day to day in our real lives, and how their relationships with home might differ from our own. It’s also a portrait of Dublin as a city that is home to some 60,000 people, and every one of them with stories to tell.

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