Comments on: Hunger

By: Shane

Shane — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:09:41 +0000

Great review.
The film is loaded with many powerful symbols. I didn’t really pick up on the religious ones until reading about them here now. I enjoyed more that scene at the very start when the warden is sitting at the table and you see underneath tiny crumbs falling from the table onto his serviette.
Hunger is only been shown on one screen here in Limerick but was getting full houses all week. Amongst the audience where I was tonight were some who expressed audible delight at the Prison warden getting shot. I have also heard of people fainting at it so it is definitely evoking strong response.
Sean, along with the many French examples, Bobby Sands has streets named after him in Tehran (British embassy location), memorial in Havana and a roundabout in Connecticut. None yet in Ireland though, I presume.

By: Arthur G

Arthur G — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:28:10 +0000

Marvellous review Smiffy, so real one can almost smell it.
This time though it’s the man who smelled of shit! What!

By: Seán Báite

Seán Báite — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:16:02 +0000

Yeah, Smiffy, Troubles films are a bit like Troubles songs – I think when people get the urge to make/compose them, they should do the world a favour and count to ten and wait for the urge to pass.
This one looks fairly intriguing though – maybe thanks to being by an already established visual artist and not some film tyro. Pity I have to wait until next month until my local cine-club has a copy…

As you state, I think the only other instance of a decent ‘Troubles’ film was Alan Clark – again where a certain aesthetic was at the core of the film.
Sands (like Che) did benefit a lot from the resemblance of footage of him to Jesus iconography. A good deal to do with how the story travelled around the world. Here in France, there are still streets named after him to this day (mostly in towns where the Communists ran the town halls – like St Nazaire, for ex.).

The Mirren ‘Tiocfaidh ar lá’ in Some Mother’s Son – just a fairly clumsy device to explain to the English/US public what the phrase meant, I suppose.

By: Garibaldy

Garibaldy — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:51:32 +0000

I read Cox’ article and was most amused, if only for the vitriol.

As for Tiocfaidh ár lá, someone might have translated it for those who use a phrase that doesn’t mean what they think it does. And ‘chuckie ar la’ could be seen in several places in Belfast in the years after the Hunger Strikes, so perhaps that was not that far-fetched.

By: WorldbyStorm

WorldbyStorm — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:38:34 +0000

I’m not exactly looking forward to seeing it, but it’s obviously worth seeing. I was amazed when I heard McQueen was making it, having some exposure to his films over the years. But from what you say, and others, he’s clearly produced something of some value.

Cox’s article is near mad.