Hunger

Genre: political drama 

With: Michael Fassbender (Bobby Sands), Liam Cunningham (Father Dominic Moran), Stuart Graham (Raymond Lohan), Liam McMahon (Gerry Campbell), Laine Megaw (Raymond’s wife), Lalor Roddy (William), Brian Milligan (Davey Gillen), Frank McCusker (the Governor), Des McAleer (Mr. Sands, Bobby’s father)

Director: Steve McQueen

Screenplay: Enda Walsh

Release: 2009

Studio: Blast Films, Channel Four, Film4, Northern Ireland Screen et al.

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.1/10 

 

‟Lucky bastard!” 

 

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Story-line: Ireland, 1981. While their country is torn by the Troubles which have raged on for twelve years, IRA detainees at the Maze prison protest against their appalling living conditions and ask British authorities to treat them as political prisoners.

Pluses: fine acting by a skilled cast, brisk direction, a cold and well-written screenplay featuring striking scenes and brutal, ironic, sometimes humorous dialogues (typified by one frank conversation between Bobby Sands and Father Moran), appropriate production values and a potent ending.  

Minuses: even if I didn’t understand all of the political issues raised, I still found great value in this different, gripping film.

Comments: from the very start − when a prison guard checks his car for explosive devices before going to work − you realize that HUNGER was not conceived for light entertainment. Stark, tragic and powerful, Steve McQueen’s film focuses on suffering as one central tenet of human life. In episodes that transcend political causes and everything else, it proves that pain is not useless; it can purify, endure and accomplish great things even in the most unfavourable circumstances (Nelson Mandela’s years at Robben Island is a case in point). For this reason alone − to which you can add its other qualities − HUNGER is a worthwhile and sobering demonstration of human resolve that reminded me of another strong film about Ireland’s struggle, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER. 

 

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