Let's not get carried away with calling it a pan-European blight. England isn't the villain, but the RM (played by Kitchen) is an agent not just of the Landlord but of the English government and its Laissez faire procedure. That's what I like about it - there's no blatant condemnation, but one gets the feel of what the Irish, supposedly full members of the Act of Union, really got from the powers that be along with their own share of greed and folly. It touches on the social, political, and most importantly, moral situations confronted by these benighted folk. Although it does not show the horrors of the workhouses, it does portray the idiocy of the 'works' projects. Most spectacularly, we see how family, the mainstay of Irish culture, is brought to its knees and nearly destroyed totally. It's also one of the few films where women in seemingly minor positions display amazing feats of strength, both physical and spiritual. Probably the most balanced film on this subject to date.
Review of The Hanging Gale
