Hunger (DVD)

Cinema originated as an art, and since then, as it has developed, it has fused this with entertainment. At the same time, it can educate and instruct, but in many ways the purely "artistic" element has receded. Artist (not resurrected movie star) Steve McQueen remedies this in his feature debut, Hunger, shifting his stylistic emphasis into something altogether more sensual. But this sensuality doesn't find its influence in the Malicks and Lynchs, but in a unique and stark reality, one which is ugly and sordid. This sensual ugliness draws out a raw authenticity, one so ugly that it brings to the film an unsettling, dreamlike aura, one realised keenly by McQueen. ...  Read the complete review

Hunger is a film portraying the imprisonment of republican prisoners in Northern Ireland's Maze prison in the early 80's and more specifically it follows Bobby Sands' hunger strike. It's not the first film on the Hunger Strikes, there have been two others: Some Mother's Son starring Helen Mirren and John Lynch; and H3 which I haven't seen but it was written by one of the hunger strikers, Laurence McKeown, who went on to found the Belfast film festival as well. Hunger is probably the best known of the three and the most critically acclaimed, however, contrasting it with Some Mother's Son only I can't say it is the best. The Story The film begins with ...  Read the complete review

WHAT IS IT AOUT: Michael Fassbender stars as Bobby Sands, the Irish political prisoner who took part in a hunger strike that ultimately claimed his life in the Maze Prison in 1981. This true story is artistically and poignantly told. IS IT ANY GOOD: I read a review of this film in the Telegraph, and it sounded right up my street: intelligent, artistic and powerful - it was all three. The film is broken into three distinct parts. Part one shows the general treatment of politicl prisoners in the Maze prison, in all its gory detail. Smearing faeces on the walls of their cells, refusing to wear prison uniform and refusing to wash were all ...  Read the complete review

A gruelling, hypnotic, uncompromising account of the 1981 IRA hunger strikes - or at least, of the chunk of such directly related to the death of republican prisoner Bobby Sands (played by Michael Fassbender) - Hunger, the debut feature by Turner Prize-winning artist Steve McQueen, is an absolutely flawless, peerless piece of work - the second best film of 2008, for my money (nestled between Wall-E and There Will Be Blood, as it happens - two films with which, surprisingly enough, it shares quite a bit in common, insofar as tone and form are concerned). Regardless of what one might feel about Sands as an individual, or, more importantly, as an Icon, McQueen's ...  Read the complete review

Hunger may not be as high profile as most releases of last year, but it's a gripping and intense film about Bobby Sands' famed hunger strike. It won the Caméra d'Or award (that is awarded to first time filmmakers) at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, making a name out of its helmer, Steve McQueen. This is dedicated, visceral filmmaking at its very best, with a superb cast to boot. The film revolves around Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender, who very much rose to fame thanks to film, landing a role in Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Inglourious Basterds as a result), the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer who initiated the famous 1981 hunger strike in ...  Read the complete review