The Secret of Roan Inish

The Secret of Roan Inish

Between land and sea there is a place where myths are real.

PG 1994 · 103 min · ★ 6.7 · Adventure, Fantasy, Family, Drama

Ten-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland. She soon learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a Selkie – a seal who can turn into a human. Years earlier, her baby brother was washed out to sea and never seen again, so when Fiona spies a naked little boy on the abandoned Isle of Roan Inish, she is compelled to investigate.

Directed by John Sayles · Written by John Sayles

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Rent or Buy

Cast

Make it a double feature

5h 5m together

The Secret of Roan Inish

Malcolm X

Both from John Sayles.

More from John SaylesSee all →

Shannon's Deal

Shannon's Deal · 1990

Shannon's Deal is an American legal drama. The show centers on a successful Philadelphia corporate lawyer named Jack Shannon, who lost his family and his job to a compulsive gambling habit. The saga of Shannon, who leaves a prestigious law firm after years of becoming unhappy with the legal system and being forced to take his clients to court, and whom subsequently opens his own low-rent practice

Malcolm X

Malcolm X · 1992

MovieDramaHistory

A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.

The Alienist

The Alienist · 2018

SeriesDramaCrime

New York, 1896. Police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt brings together criminal psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, newspaper illustrator John Moore and secretary Sara Howard to investigate several murders of male prostitutes.

Poker Face

Poker Face · 2023

SeriesCrimeMystery

Follow Charlie Cale, a woman with an extraordinary ability to tell when someone is lying, as she hits the road and, at every stop, encounters a new cast of characters and crimes she can't help but solve.

Matewan

Matewan · 1987

MovieDramaHistory

Filmed in the coal country of West Virginia, "Matewan" celebrates labor organizing in the context of a 1920s work stoppage. Union organizer, Joe Kenehan, a scab named "Few Clothes" Johnson and a sympathetic mayor and police chief heroically fight the power represented by a coal company and Matewan's vested interests so that justice and workers' rights need not take a back seat to squalid working conditions, exploitation and the bottom line.

Lone Star

Lone Star · 1996

MovieDramaMystery

When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.

Passion Fish

Passion Fish · 1992

After an accident leaves her a paraplegic, a former soap opera star struggles to recover both emotionally and mentally, until she meets her newest nurse, who has struggles of her own.

Eight Men Out

Eight Men Out · 1988

MovieDramaHistory

Buck Weaver and Hap Felsch are young idealistic players on the Chicago White Sox, a pennant-winning team owned by Charles Comiskey - a penny-pinching, hands-on manager who underpays his players and treats them with disdain. And when gamblers and hustlers discover that Comiskey's demoralized players are ripe for a money-making scheme, one by one the team members agree to throw the World Series. But when the White Sox are defeated, a couple of sports writers smell a fix and a national scandal explodes, ripping the cover off America's favorite pastime.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

The Spiderwick Chronicles · 2008

The Spiderwick Chronicles

MovieFamilyAdventure

Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.

Matinee

Matinee · 1993

MovieComedyDrama

A showman introduces a small coastal town to a unique movie experience and capitalizes on the Cuban Missile crisis hysteria with a kitschy horror extravaganza combining film effects, stage props and actors in rubber suits in this salute to the B-movie.

The Brother from Another Planet

The Brother from Another Planet · 1984

The Brother from Another Planet

MovieComedyScience Fiction

A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.

Gridlock'd

Gridlock'd · 1997

MovieComedyCrime

After a friend overdoses, Spoon and Stretch decide to kick their drug habits and attempt to enroll in a government detox program. Their efforts are hampered by seemingly endless red tape, as they are shuffled from one office to another while being chased by drug dealers and the police.

City of Hope

City of Hope · 1991

This gritty inner-city film follows various people living in a troubled New Jersey setting, most notably Nick Rinaldi, a disillusioned contractor who has been helped along his whole life by his wealthy father. Other characters in this ensemble drama about urban conflict and corruption include Asteroid , an unstable homeless person, and Wynn, an idealistic young politician.

Something Wild

Something Wild · 1986

MovieCrimeComedy

A free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-con husband shows up.

Limbo

MovieAdventureDrama

Traumatized by a fishing boat accident many years before, Joe Gastineau has given up his hopes for a life beyond the odd jobs he takes to support himself. That quickly changes when nomadic club singer Donna de Angelo and her troubled teen-age daughter enter Joe’s life. Both mother and daughter fall for Joe, increasing the friction between them. The tension continues to build when Joe invites them on a pleasure cruise up the Alaskan coast, discovering too late that the trip may cost them their lives.

The Howling

The Howling · 1981

After a bizarre and near fatal encounter with a serial killer, a newswoman is sent to a rehabilitation center whose inhabitants may not be what they seem.

More Like This

Hard Truths

Hard Truths · 2024

MovieDramaComedy

Pansy is a woman so full of rage that every interaction she has devolves into lashing out, whether at her utterly cowed husband and son, or random strangers who have the temerity to address her. In contrast, her younger sister Chantelle lives with her two vivacious daughters and plies a successful trade as a hairdresser, putting clients at their ease all day long. Yet beneath Pansy’s abrasive exterior are hints of a more fragile psyche, one motivated by fear and damaged by repressed pain.

Tokyo Sonata

Tokyo Sonata · 2008

The winds of change blow as a family grapples with unemployment, alienation, mistrust and a lack of communication. When a Japanese salaryman loses his job to outsourcing to China, it's simply the beginning of a series of shattering incidents, leading to the implosion of the family unit.

Eight Below

Eight Below · 2006

MovieAdventureDrama

In the Antarctic, after an expedition with Dr. Davis McClaren, the sled dog trainer Jerry Shepherd has to leave the polar base with his colleagues due to the proximity of a heavy snow storm. He ties his dogs to be rescued after, but the mission is called-off and the dogs are left alone at their own fortune. For six months, Jerry tries to find a sponsor for a rescue mission.

The Family Stone

The Family Stone · 2005

The Family Stone

MovieComedyDrama

An uptight, conservative businesswoman accompanies her boyfriend to his eccentric and outgoing family's annual Christmas celebration and finds that she's a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life.

DOA: Dead or Alive

DOA: Dead or Alive · 2006

DOA: Dead or Alive

MovieAdventureAction

Four beautiful rivals at an invitation-only martial-arts tournament join forces against a sinister threat. Princess Kasumi is an aristocratic warrior trained by martial-arts masters. Tina Armstrong is a wrestling superstar. Helena Douglas is an athlete with a tragic past. Christie Allen earns her keep as a thief and an assassin-for-hire.

Blue Crush

Blue Crush · 2002

MovieAdventureRomance

Nothing gets between Anne Marie and her board. Living in a beach shack with three roommates, she is up before dawn every morning to conquer the waves and count the days until the Pipe Masters competition. Having transplanted herself to Hawaii with no one's blessing but her own, Anne Marie finds all she needs in the adrenaline-charged surf scene - until pro quarterback Matt Tollman comes along...

The Quest

The Quest · 1996

MovieActionAdventure

Ghang-gheng, the ancient winner-take-all competition in which the deadliest fighters from around the world employ the most spectacular feats of martial arts skills ever displayed in order to win the prized Golden Dragon. But fighting prowess alone will not be enough for Chris to triumph over such daunting foes.

Three Monkeys

Three Monkeys · 2008

MovieDramaThriller

A family battles against the odds to stay together when small lies grow into an extravagant cover-up. In order to avoid hardship and responsibilities that would otherwise be impossible to endure, the family chooses to ignore the truth, not to see, hear or talk about it. But does playing “Three Monkeys” invalidate the truth of its existence?

Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat · 1995

MovieActionFantasy

For nine generations an evil sorcerer has been victorious in hand-to-hand battle against his mortal enemies. If he wins a tenth Mortal Kombat tournament, desolation and evil will reign over the multiverse forever. To save Earth, three warriors must overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, their own inner demons, and superhuman foes.

Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights · 2011

Wuthering Heights

MovieDramaRomance

Yorkshire moorlands, northern England, in the late 18th century. Young Heathcliff, rescued from the streets of Liverpool by Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of Wuthering Heights, an isolated farm, develops over the years an insane passion for Cathy, his foster sister, a sick obsession destined to end tragically.

Snow Angels

Snow Angels · 2007

MovieDramaRomance

Waitress Annie has separated from her suicidal alcoholic husband, Glenn. Glenn has become an evangelical Christian, but his erratic attempts at getting back into Annie's life have alarmed her. High school student Arthur works at Annie's restaurant, growing closer to a new kid in town, Lila, after class. When Glenn and Annie's daughter goes missing, the whole town searches for her, as he increasingly spirals out of control.

Ten Canoes

Ten Canoes · 2006

MovieAdventureComedy

A story within a story within a story. In Australia's Northern Territory, an Aboriginal narrator tells a story about his ancestors on a goose hunt. A youngster on the hunt is being tempted to adultery with his elder brother's wife, so an elder tells him a story from the mythical past about how evil can slip in and cause havoc unless prevented by virtue according to customary tribal law.

Prey

MovieAdventureHorror

An American family on holiday in Africa becomes lost in a game reserve and stalked by vicious killer lions.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter