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Released 31st October 2008
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Known more recently for his controversial Iraq postage stamp designs in 2007, Turner-Prize-winning artist/film-maker Steve McQueen adopts his preferred minimalist film-making approach in this completely unforgiving, totally shocking and quite bilious drama about the death of Irish Republican Army (IRA) member Bobby Sands in the Maze prison in 1981, who died 66 days into a hunger strike. As controversial as the film’s subject matter is, it strikes undeniable parallels with the present-day incarceration of those deemed a ‘serious threat’ to governments around the world, including those in Guantanamo Bay. As McQueen commented, Hunger serves not only as a stark adaptation of a real-life event, but also as a powerful reminder to those too young to remember, but old enough to not forgot today’s often questionable incarceration tactics in the name of war and national security.
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Almost indescribable, but astonishingly desolate in feeling, the film attempts to disorientate from the beginning, building an awesome visual experience of the claustrophobia of working in, and being a high-risk IRA inmate in the Maze’s H-Block at the time of the ‘blanket, no soap’ regime. It also fully portrays the emotional cost on both prison staff and inmates in some of the most relentless prison scenes ever witnessed. You can almost smell and taste every putrid scenario, and wince in pain at the violent confrontations. Everything about the film is minimalist, particularly the script. Intentionally, the only proper dialogue comes at a highly pivotal moment in the film, so that it impacts the most, with a 22-minute dialogue scene between Sands and a Roman Catholic priest. The IRA ringleader announces his intention to go on hunger strike for the second time around, but this time he is prepared to sacrifice his life and those of others for political-prisoner recognition from the British government.
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Hunger’s soundtrack is intentionally repetitive and quite hypnotic in parts, and two-perf 35mm film is used for a gritty effect to match the grim, hell-on-earth moments on screen. Imagine the worst kind of brutality and living conditions for a human being in prison, and you come close to the distressful and violent scenarios played out in this film. Of all the brutality, the most harrowing is that of Sands on his own person as his body changes and slowly weakens over the 66-day period. McQueen not only gives us lingering close-ups to illustrate the physical significance of starvation, but also psychological ones. The harrowing and utterly brilliant performance by truly talented character actor, Michael Fassbender (Eden Lake), is on a par with (if not more commendable than) those in similar Irish-struggles narratives by Daniel Day-Lewis, and is worthy of all major acting-accolade recognition. So, too, are the performances given by fellow ‘inmates’, Liam McMahon as Gerry Campbell and Brian Milligan as Davey Gillen.
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Utterly compelling, totally uncompromising and emotionally draining with distressing images that will shock you to the core. Audiences in 2008 have not seen anything as raw as Hunger.
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By Lisa Keddie
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Synopsis
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Hunger follows life in the Maze Prison, Northern Ireland with an interpretation of the highly emotive events surrounding the 1981 IRA Hunger Strike, led by Bobby Sands. With an epic eye for detail, the film provides a timely exploration of what happens when body and mind are pushed to the uttermost limit.
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Film Facts
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Official UK site: http://www.hungerthemovie.co.uk/
UK release date: 31st October 2008
Director: Steve McQueen
Writers: Steve McQueen, Enda Walsh
Cast: Michael Fassbender (’Bobby Sands’), Liam Cunningham (’Father Moran’), Stuart Graham (’Ray Lohan’), Brian Milligan (’Davey’), Liam McMahon (’Gerry’)
UK Distributor: Pathe Films
Certificate: 15
Run-time: 95 mins
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Video on Real.com
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Trailer:
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FOUR CLIPS:
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Michael Fassbender Interview:
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Premiere:
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Did you know…
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- Steve McQueen wanted to show what it was like to see, hear, smell and touch in the H-block in 1981, to convey something that cannot be found in books
- This was the first time Steve McQueen had written a script
- Actors Michael Fassbender and Liam Cunningham met in Belfast for the first time and became inseparable
- The film is shot on 2 perf 35mm film, aspect ratio 2:35:1, giving it that grainy feel
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