CÁCA MILIS

IRE
2001
18mins
Dir: Jennifer Keegan
Starring: Brendan Gleeson and Charlotte Bradley

A chance encounter on a train between a woman and a blind man ends in tragic circumstances

Cáca Milis (literally ‘Sweet Cake’) is yet another dark and disturbing Irish short that is filmed almost entirely onboard a train. Two stations feature in this drama, Rathdrum appears at the beginning and Dalkey, on the DART system, features at the end. The train is (largely) formed of Mk.3 coaching stock hauled by a Class 181 diesel-electric. Cáca Milis is studied by students who study Irish for the Leaving Cert and, as such, it has become a cult classic among Irish youth and is much talked about to this day. It is a distressing film that manages to disturb thousands of Irish students every year, but it can not build a reputation by being poor, and Gleeson puts in one of his best performances on screen. Having taught the language for years he is a champion of Irish Gaelic, and the film does justice to that. With thanks to Ewan Duffy for help in identifying the stations.

This opening shot shows the delightful Rathdrum station, County Wicklow. The view is looking north from the down platform. Visible on the up platform is the disused former Dublin, Wicklow & Wexford Railway elevated signal cabin.
This excellent middle-distance shot shows the train approaching Dalkey from the north-west behind a General Motors Class 181. The telephoto lens has caused considerable contraction of the view. This is an overhead electrified line, yet the overhead catenary is barely noticeable at all.
This is Rathdrum station, again looking north, this time from the footbridge seen in the earlier view. The bridge over the River Avonmore is visible through the stone arch of the Station Road overbridge. This is the final station at the end of the journey but the train is different to the one that is pulling out in the very final scene as these coaches on the back are not Mk.3’s. It is a different station too……
…..it is Dalkey, on the DART electrified system in County Dublin. Charlotte Bradley leaves the train which is now formed entirely of Mk.3 coaches.
The train pulls away and as it rounds the bend the loco is revealed to be another Class 181.