Violent History

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! LOOK FOR ALERTS!

Every once in a while I watch something that keeps me inexplicably transfixed.  A film that draws me in until I find myself making strange faces or other bodily reactions to what I'm watching.  Mind you, I'm not talking about the kind of reactions you would expect from a bunch of drunken frat boys and a horror movie.  I'm talking about real gut reactions.  I'm talking about being truly affected to the core by some inexplicable quality of the film.  This happened a few weeks back when I finally got around to watching Steve McQueen's (the artist, not the actor) first feature length film Hunger.

If you've seen the film, perhaps you know what I'm talking about.  It's available on Netflix Instant, although if you're a quality snob, the people at Criterion Collection released a Blu Ray for it earlier this year.  Is about IRA member Bobby Sands, who was a key player during the No Wash prison strike during the Thatcher era, in which the IRA were attempting to force the British Parliament to recognize them as political prisoners and not as terrorists.

The film lingers heavily on the psychological effect of prison treatment on both the prisoners and the guards using slow photography and cold textured lighting.  It stuck with me for a good long time, but I wanted to let it gestate before talking about it further.  McQueen is an expert with his camera, showing all the filth and the fury involved in the strikes.  It reminded me greatly of some of the cinematography of Orson Welles' films; long moving shots, refusing to cut when one would expect it, forcing the viewer to be with the film at precise moments and there by getting under the viewers skin.

There are some hard scenes to take in, especially knowing that the film is based on fact.  Michael Fassbender commits wholly to his character, once again doing a fantastic job in his portrayal of a man fighting for his conviction against all odds.  That is not to say that the film is totally one sided.  McQueen also gives us a glimpse into the life of a prison guard and a young riot officer, both of whom are affected violently, both physically and mentally.

The film really, to me at least, is an attempt to show the pointlessness and the sheer loss that results from such violent bull headed ideologies.  When the No Wash strike fails, Bobby Sands announces a Hunger Strike, where the film takes it's name from and McQueen doesn't let the audience off easy.

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Sands commits fully to his ideals and we watch as a strong man, full of vigor, is reduced to a shrunken, shriveled skeleton of a man, before death takes him.  We are left with the sensation to cherish our innocence while we have it, because, as history has shown, it can all come crashing down to a wretched and violent end.

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For all it's grittiness and it's heavy subject matter, Hunger, is a beautifully shot film about a tense and ugly situation in the history of the United Kingdom.  'The Troubles' as they have been called, left a huge scar on the psyche of the people and films such as Hunger can only attempt to examine those scars so that true healing can begin.  I look forward to getting out to see McQueen's second feature (also starring Fassbender) Shame.