The Ticket asked election candidates to name their favourite movies and albums, then asked two of our film and music critics to comment on their choices. Read it before you vote
BERTIE AHERN, FIANNA FÁIL, DUBLIN CENTRAL
Film: One of the most fascinating and interesting films I saw in the last year was March of the Penguins. Watching nature films is relaxing, and this was an epic tale that was superbly photographed.
Antarctica is inhospitable at any time of the year and in winter is one of the most difficult environments on earth. Every autumn the adults leave their feeding grounds in the ocean and march inland to mate and hatch a single egg. As the winter goes on, the waters freeze and each parent must take turns to make ever longer treks back to the feeding grounds in the ocean to ensure the survival of the other and the young chick. That journey can be over 100 kilometres.
Most human beings think penguins are very attractive and often comical characters; in reality their lives are harsh and their struggle for survival is epic. By comparison to what Emperor Penguins go through every year, an election every five years is an easier option when it comes to survival of the species.
Album: My favourite LP has to be Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits. Songs like Forever in Blue Jeans, I Am . . . I Said and Beautiful Noise bring me back to the late 1960s and early 1970s. I was in my early 20s and like most people, I enjoyed those years. I went to see Neil Diamond when he was last in Dublin and I thoroughly enjoyed it. He is very good in concert.
Donald Clarke writes: Stop the presses! An Taoiseach picks slab of neo-con propaganda as his favourite film. Not really. Though nuttier America conservatives claimed that Luc Jacquet's amiable documentary, March of the Penguins, supported their worldview, the film is guaranteed to offend absolutely nobody.
Brian Boyd writes: Without being flippant, most people of your age who look back on the music they were listening to in their carefree early 20s tend to get all misty-eyed about the likes of Dylan, The Stones or, at a push, Pink Floyd. The fact that you were getting on down to Neil Diamond while all around you were turning on, tuning on and dropping out suggests, dare I say it, a bit of a wasted youth.
The other point here is that you should never select a Greatest Hits album as a favourite album - it's not very discerning. Diamond is an undoubtedly great songwriter and a consummate showman - even if his gigs can sometime feel like glorified karaoke sessions.
BARRY ANDREWS, FIANNA FÁIL, DUN LAOGHAIRE
Favourite film? Life is Beautiful. There is a scene where the guy is a prisoner in the concentration camp and gets a job waiting tables. He gets a chance to change records on the gramophone. He chooses Barcarolle by Offenbach and turns the speaker to an open window in the direction of the women's camp where his wife is - she hears the music and knows he is still alive. That scene sticks out in my mind. I still like watching Withnail and I, which is hilarious and about nothing in particular - lots of great quotes and characters.
Favourite album? Blue Valentine by Tom Waits. I first heard it on a cassette and liked all the songs on side one particularly Romeo is Bleeding and Christmas Card from a Hooker. The lyrics are great and the sound is very jazzy which I like. I like all of Tom Waits's stuff.
Last film you saw ? The last DVD was Manhattan with Woody Allen - I subscribe to Moviestar.ie and this was on the list, so it just arrived one day. I saw it first after doing a J1 in New York - it is still cool and very funny. The last cinema film was Last King of Scotland - amazing performance from Forrest Whitaker. I have been to Uganda and the place has come a long way without being perfect.
What was the last piece of music you bought? I haven't bought any music for a while - I think the last one was Franz Ferdinand's second album - not as good as the first one.
Donald Clarke writes: Barry, scion of a great political dynasty, refuses to bow to electoral orthodoxy by making a statement to which no voter could object. Life is Beautiful, the Marmite of motion pictures, is, according to your taste, either deeply moving or a reprehensible, disgustingly manipulative perversion of the Holocaust. Clearly a brave politician.
Brian Boyd writes: Barry, you're spot on about Offenbach's beautiful Barcarolle and Offenbach would have made for a more engaging choice than Tom Waits's Blue Valentine, which isn't even his best work (Small Change from 1976 is better). Franz Ferdinand is a dreadfully predictable choice for your last album purchased. Do you honestly like their po-faced derivative art-rock? Or do you just like their initials?
NIALL BLANEY, FIANNA FÁIL, DONEGAL NORTHEAST
Favourite film? The Lion King. It appeals to the imagination.
Favourite album? No favourite.
Last film you saw? The Wind that Shakes the Barley. I thought it showed a more real representation of Irish history.
Last piece of music you bought? Can't remember it's been so long.
Donald Clarke writes: Niall, one of those Blaneys, would, presumably, have been expelled from his clan if he had failed to mention The Wind that Shakes the Barley. The Lion King is a more surprising inclusion. Mind you, the circle of life is illustrated quite powerfully by the perennial appearance of different generations of Blaney in Dáil Éireann.
Brian Boyd writes: I don't think you'll be in the running for Minister for Arts if Fianna Fáil are re-elected. This limp response reeks of indifference. While there is no imperative to make an effort on the musical front, you could try to engage more with your cultural surrounds - particularly as you're from such a musically rich county. If you like The Lion King, you'll probably like the person who wrote the music for it - Elton John. And you're welcome to him.
LUCINDA CREIGHTON, FINE GAEL, DUBLIN SOUTHEAST
Favourite film? The Godfather. I am a big fan of mafia/gangster movies and The Godfather is a true classic. I think the cast with Marlon Brando, Diane Keaton and Al Pacino is one of the best ever. My favourite scene is the one with the dead horse's head in Don Corleone's bed - gruesome but great.
Favourite album? Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate. It's difficult to pick one album by Leonard Cohen because all of his work is amazing. I love this one because is has a good mix of typical Cohen ballads and it includes my favourite song, Famous Blue Raincoat. Some people regard his music as depressing, but I find it uplifting. I listen to him all the time.
Last film you saw? The last movie I saw on DVD was The History Boys. It was terrible. It was supposed to be a clever British comedy with a Dead Poets Society feel to it. I watched it with friends and we moaned and groaned the whole way through it.
Last piece of music you bought? We Thrive on Big Cities by Director. They are a really good new Dublin band. There are lots coming up at the moment which is fantastic. I like to buy Irish!
Donald Clarke writes: Lucinda's contribution suggests that she can be trusted on the broad issues, but perhaps needs to pay greater attention to the more intricate details of policy. The Godfather is certainly a classic, but the horse's head ends up in Jack Woltz's bed, not Don Corleone's.
Brian Boyd writes: Few view Cohen in the correct light: as an arch humorist frequently misinterpreted as a bedsit miserablist. I'm concerned that you failed to appreciate Alan Bennett's The History Boys. This cancels the bonus points you got for Leonard. "I like to buy Irish" is a daft remark, but at least Director (one of the best new Irish bands around) are not constituents of yours.
OLWYN ENRIGHT, FINE GAEL, LAOIS-OFFALY
Favourite film? I like old classics such as Casablanca and I also enjoy films such as the Godfather series. My tastes change all the time depending on what film I go to see.
Favourite album? Jack Johnson's In Between Dreams album. I like his style of music. It is upbeat and mellow at the same time.
Last film you saw? Once, starring Glen Hansard. The music was lovely and it was very interesting because it depicted the changing nature of Irish society in a humorous and touching way.
Last piece of music you bought? 18, the U2 compilation album. I am big U2 fan, but prefer their earlier stuff.
Donald Clarke writes: Did Tom Enright, Olwyn's dad and her predecessor as TD for Laois Offaly, have as much trouble persuading his offspring to take over the business as Don Corleone did in The Godfather? Whatever. Fine Gael politicians, as prone to forming dynasties as their opponents, do seem disturbingly keen on Coppola's gangster classic. Oh, and Casablanca again.
Brian Boyd writes: The only semi-interesting thing about the surfer turned anodyne musician Jack Johnson is that he has a fan base far out of proportion to his musical ability. Apparently this is because of (as a colleague informs me) his "ridability" factor. Not that this would influence a Fine Gael frontbench spokesperson in any way or form.
ENDA KENNY, FINE GAEL, MAYO
Favourite film? A Man for All Seasons. It epitomises courage and loyalty.
Favourite album? The Rising by Bruce Springsteen. The social comment is hugely powerful and really speaks to me.
Last film you saw? The Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line. A brilliant portrayal of an extraordinary time in American musical development. The two main performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were surprisingly powerful.
Last piece of music you bought?
The Seeger Sessions, Bruce Springsteen.
Donald Clarke writes: Enda, who, despite his apparent taste for Johnny Cash, would never shoot a man just to see him die, might be accused of playing to negative aspects of his perceived image by selecting a plodding, slightly dull picture such as A Man for All Seasons. But, in his defence, he is one of only two politicians on the list to select a film made before 1970 that is not Casablanca. Radical.
Brian Boyd writes: Just a quick correction and clarification here: Springsteen's The Rising is not a social comment album, it is a ruminative reflection on the events and aftermath of 9/11 - not quite the same thing. While Springsteen's Seeger Sessions is an enthralling work, I do wonder what you would make of the fact that Pete Seeger was involved with the American Communist Party in the 1950s and was known, even to some members of the Democratic Party, as "Stalin's Songbird". If you want to know more about Pete Seeger, I'm sure Pat Rabbite has a few of his old albums.
TOM KITT, FIANNA FÁIL, DUBLIN SOUTH
Favourite film? LA Confidential. Classic Storyline, strong characters, brilliant setting, atmosphere, gripping stuff. All round great movie.
Favourite album? Guy Clarke - The Dark. He is one of my all-time favourite singers. My son gave me a present of this particular album last year. He is still producing great material. His voice is really special, as is his guitar-playing and his story-telling.
Last film you saw? On DVD, Little Miss Sunshine. Heart-warming story with some amazing characters. It's a feel-good, intelligent comedy.
Last piece of music you bought? OCMS - The Old Crow Medicine Show - Impressive young bluegrass, country band. Great sounding guitars, banjos and harmonies.
Donald Clarke writes: When, in LA Confidential, Russell Crowe wants to impress his will upon a suspect, he kicks nine colours of ordure out of him and dangles him from a 10th-floor window. Tom, as outgoing Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, has been carrying out the duties of Chief Whip. I'd vote the way he says, if I were you.
Brian Boyd writes: Quite récherché choices, even if the Guy Clark album was given to you by your son - the singer-songwriter David, perhaps? Clark is a consistently underrated talent. The only thing I know about OCMS is that I don't like them or their twee Americana. Nevertheless, there's obviously musical knowledge going on here. Maybe Bertie should appoint you musical supervisor of the Ard-fheisanna.
MARY LOU McDONALD, SINN FÉIN, DUBLIN CENTRAL
Favourite film? Casablanca or Gone with the Wind. I adore the classics, from a time when when dialogue, authenticity and solid acting were essential to sell a film.
Favourite album? At the moment I am listening to Damien Dempsey's Seize the Day. Damien has a truly original voice, is a masterful lyricist, is powerful live and has an ear for an anthemic killer chorus. A true tub-thumper with tunes.
Last film you saw? Last week all the McDonald family watched Shrek 1 and 2 on DVD, in one four-hour sitting. Brilliant. It takes a great talent to be able to make a movie that entertains people from age four to 104.
Last piece of music you bought? The Beatles - Love. A remastered and remixed 26-song compilation. Loved it.
Donald Clarke writes: Ah, Casablanca. After years of mutual mistrust, two old adversaries eventually face up to the inevitable and, upon agreeing an uneasy compromise, stroll off together into the mist. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," one says. But who - Ian or Mary Lou's boss - gets to be Humphrey Bogart.
Brian Boyd writes: Cynics might argue that the only reason you picked the undeniably talented Damien Dempsey was because the singer has spoken in interviews about doing fundraisers for his local Sinn Féin councillor. Then again, maybe not. The Beatles Love album was undoubtedly one of the best releases of last year.
MICHAEL McCARTHY, LABOUR, CORK SOUTHWEST
Favourite film? Hotel Rwanda. It highlighted the terrible atrocities that took place in that part of the world, and it showed that one man can make a difference.
Favourite album? The Greatest Hits of Cat Stevens. He wrote his own music and that type of music hits a chord with me (pardon the pun).
Last film you saw? Borat. I thought it would be funnier.
Last piece of music you bought? The Best of Dance 1997 - it was a second-hand CD, bought in a second-hand store. I didn't really enjoy it. Thought it would be better.
Donald Clarke writes: Senator McCarthy shows his acute political instincts by selecting a film directed by an Irishman - Terry George - which, nonetheless, deals with an international issue of some import. Several bases covered there. Failing to find Borat funny, however, makes him sound more than a little eccentric.
Brian Boyd writes: Your choice of Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam) is commendable, though Tea For The Tillerman is a more cohesive album than his greatest hits. Two things about the last album you bought. Never buy an album with the words "best of" in the title. Never buy a dance album.
FINIAN McGRATH, INDEPENDENT, DUBLIN NORTH
Favourite film? The Wind that Shakes the Barley. It's relevant to Ireland and shows what the war of independence was really like. It's a reminder for us all to ensure that politics works.
Favourite album? Albert Hammond's It Never Rains in Southern California. Rory Gallagher's Live in Europe. Al Hamm is someone I grew up with and he's a great writer and he was ahead of his time in relation to issues like the environment. Rory Gallagher was the best guitar player in the world as far as I was concerned.
Last film you saw? I can't remember, too busy. If I have time I go to a gig rather than a film. The last one I was at was Dylan in the Point.
Last piece of music you bought? The Book of Lightning by Mike Scott and The Waterboys. To me it's top-class. I love the Waterboys and Mike Scott has a very distinctive voice. I like the mix of rock and trad.
Donald Clarke writes: Oh Lord, it's bloody Barley again. When Ken Loach set out to make his film concerning the War of Independence he cannot have imagined that its release, by dragging every TD into the cinema, would briefly paralyse the administration of the nation forged by that conflict.
Brian Boyd writes: "Al Hamm", as you call him, is an inspired choice. Naming the guitar virtuoso Rory Gallagher dates you, but you redeem yourself by being one of the few people to have bought a 2007 album. Commiserations for not buying a better Waterboys record, though.
JOHN O'DONOGHUE, FIANNA FÁIL, KERRY SOUTH
Favourite film? Papillon. Although the central story in this film is about a man who is wrongly imprisoned for 20 years, the real story is one of hope, perseverance, friendship and most of all the triumph of spirit in extreme circumstances.
Favourite album? Tim Dennehy - Between the Mountains and the Sea. He has put the enthralling words of one of Ireland's most talented writers (Sigerson Clifford) to his own unique brand of traditional Irish music.
What was the last film you saw either on DVD or in the cinema? I was lucky enough to be in Cannes when The Wind that Shakes the Barley won the Palm D'Or - recently I looked at it again on DVD. I liked the way Ken Loach approached the film. He worked with local people and actors and this kept a tremendous authenticity about it as many of the incidents in the film are based on truth.
Last piece of music you bought? Tim Dennehy - Between the Mountains and the Sea. It takes me home - so I enjoy it immensely.
Donald Clarke writes: The minister responsible for the film industry reveals some serious cojones - and risks being punched in the face the next time he walks through Temple Bar - by selecting as his favourite film a project with no Irish connections to speak of. But wait. Dextrous as ever, he covers his posterior by mentioning a recent viewing of that film.
Brian Boyd writes: John, as Minister for Arts your decision to double up on your favourite album and the last piece of music you bought is a tad unimaginative, and given that both Tim Dennehy and Sigerson Clifford are both from Kerry, your choice is bordering on the parochial.
PAT RABBITTE, LABOUR, MAYO
Favourite film? Casablanca. A romantic thriller with enduring lines and Ingrid Bergman.
Favourite album? Astral Weeks. Raw energy, Van at his best.
Last film you saw? An Inconvenient Truth, in the cinema. Thought-provoking, if lacking in specifics.
Last piece of music you bought? U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. I didn't even get to hear it yet.
Donald Clarke writes: Oh Lord, it's bloody Casablanca again. But Pat's lukewarm feelings towards An Inconvenient Truth are more interesting. Is he attempting to put distance between himself and the tree huggers?
Brian Boyd writes: You can never go wrong with the Van's masterpiece recorded in just two days, Astral Weeks. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb was released in 2004. That you haven't listened to it yet suggests music is not a priority for you. Pity, you could sing track three on the album (Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own) to Enda Kenny.
MICHAEL McDOWELL, PD, DUBLIN SOUTHEAST
Favourite film? Casablanca. It's got everything. Adventure, romance and there are great characterisations in the film.
Favourite album? Help by the Beatles. I must say I love the music of the 1960s, and it's hard to get a better collection of great songs from the '60s than on that album.
Last film you saw? 300. Good but not great.
Last piece of music you bought? The Pasadena Roof Orchestra Collection, which I thoroughly enjoy listening to.
Donald Clarke writes: Once again, forget Casablanca. The real news here is that the Hammer of Ranelagh saw fit to take himself to 300. Zack Snyder's ferociously violent epic has been accused of being indecently homoerotic, loose with the facts and right-wing to the point of neo-fascism. This does not sound like our Michael.
Brian Boyd writes: The only other person I know of who admits to liking The Pasadena Roof Orchestra is the Queen of England. What this says, I wouldn't like to speculate.
TREVOR SARGENT, GREEN, DUBLIN NORTH
Favourite film? Cal. For the fabulous soundtrack of Mark Knopfler and evocative roles played by Helen Mirren and John Lynch.
Favourite album? Till the Day Fades by Liz Seaver. It's an impressive display of talent by a young Skerries singer/ songwriter, recorded at Troy Horse Studios in Balbriggan.
Last film you saw? Amazing Grace, about the campaign to abolish the transatlantic slave trade. It was good, as biopics go, and more faithful to history than, say the Michael Collins biopic.
Last piece of music you bought? Can You Feel the Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens, following a recommendation from Ireland's coolest publican and Green Party candidate for Louth, Mark Dearey. It's very enjoyable - washes over me like a musical Radox bath after a day (and night) of canvassing.
Donald Clarke writes: Pat O'Connor's Cal, a moving tale of the troubles, will do nicely. But what's this with Amazing Grace? William Wilberforce, the abolitionist hero of the picture, comes across as one of the few voices of integrity in a House of Commons stuffed with time-servers and idlers. Is Trevor trying to tell us something?
Brian Boyd writes: I find it difficult to believe that Till The Day Fades In is really your favourite album. Seaver is a young Dublin singer-songwriter who specialises in acoustic folk-pop and is a talent to watch, but selecting this over Pet Sounds, Sgt Pepper's or any other choice from the established musical canon, strikes me as a rash and impetuous choice. You seem to have gone for Sufjan Stevens on the recommendation of a "cool" politician. That wasn't a good idea because Stevens's album is the second in a series which will see him travel to all 50 United State to record themed albums. That's a lot of carbon emissions.
