Hunger (MOD)

Hunger is the feature film debut of visual artist Steve McQueen. And what a debut it is. The film is set in 1981. The story takes place, for the most part, in the infamous Maze prison in Northern Ireland.

The beginning of the film deals with a new prisoner who is thrown into a cell with another IRA prisoner. They are covered with blankets becasue they refust to wear the prison uniforms. We move onto Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender), who like all of the other IRA prisoners wants his status changed from crimals prisoner to political prisoner. After he makes the decision to launch (another) hunber strike he calls for a meeting with the prison priest (Liam Cunningham) to explain to him what will happen and to ask for forgiveness. And the last part of the film deals with Sands' starvation and death.

McQueen wrote the screenplay with Enda Walsh. Both the direction and writing are fantastic. Fassbender is marvelous as Sands. And Cunningham is great as the priest.

McQueen has a lot of cajones for making this film feel so real. I actually felt that I was in the Maze. But be warned - this film is hard to watch. It is not for the squeamish. It is beyond brutal. But it is also brilliant. Steve McQueen is a new talent to watch. And Fassbender is also someone to keep an eye on.

So, yes, I highly recommend this film. But just be prepared to cringe or look away from the screen every so often. I can only tell you that I watched the film at home and I was exhausted. Do I want to see this film again? Probably not. It took too much out of me. But if you love world cinema and don't mind some brutal things then this film is for you.

Edit: I should say that although the story here takes place in 1981 it is still relevant today. And very much so. How we treat prisoners reflects on our humanity and as we have seen in the last few years in such places as Guantanamo we have a lot to learn in this area.