Hunger [DVD] [2008]

The story of an Irish hero. What greater love has a man than he lay down his life for his friends

This incredible film literally took my breath away. Harsh,beautiful, mesmerising and intelligent. I was a student when Bobby Sands died and I remember such a wild mix of emotions. Awe that a man had such strength of will that he would willingly and knowingly starve himself to death to make a point, disgust,outrage and confusion. Of course the situation was far more complex (as are most things to do with the Troubles) than I understood at the time and this film doesn't in any way seek to explain, justify or apologise for any of the things that happened. The strain on prison guards is just as apparent as that on the prisoners. Don't watch this if you are looking for answers- you won't find them here. The key scene, the conversation between Sands and a priest sympathetic to the republican cause, is one of the finest pieces of understated acting I have ever witnessed. It is by turns funny, poignant, angry and resigned as both men struggle to understand the impasse that their divergent views have brought them to. I had a lump in my throat when Liam Cunningham says, while the camera is focused on Michael Fassbender's already gaunt face "I don't think I'll be seeing you again Bobby"If you want to understand the Troubles read a book, watch a documentary, talk to an Irishman. If you want a deceptively simple film with two extraordinary performances in Fassbender and Cunningham, a truly visually artistic tour de force then you have to watch this. It will make you think. It will make you feel. It will haunt you.

This film graphically depicts Bobby Sand's last few years. It is very well made and the squalor in which the hunger strikers lived is palpable, as are the man's torturous last few weeks. I have deducted a start because there are no subtitles and there are parts of the film where the dialogue is not easily intelligible.Whether Bobby Sands was a good man or a bad man is totally subjective. However, there can be no doubt that he was a courageous man driven by a fanatical devotion to the Irish Republican cause. To die from self-imposed starvation, and not relent as your body wastes away over sixty-six days, takes considerable courage. I will make it clear that I am not particularly sympathetic to his cause, however I cannot doubt this man's bravery or commitment to it.

This movie is an 'arthouse' movie. If you want to be entertained by a simple, follow-the-breadcrumbs movie then go watch something like 'Bad Boys'. Speaking of bad boys, some of the Northern Irish chaps who died during the hunger strike were bad boys. Director Steve McQueen does not reveal the nasty side of these 'political prisoners' or 'martyrs' as they are known in some parts of Ireland.McQueen shows us the prisoners prospective via Bobby Sands. The director does not reveal the side/ story of the prisoner officers, and he really cannot do all that in less than two hours of motion pictures.Overall this is the best movie i have seen in a long time. Having just recently watched Apocalypse Now (again) recently, I realsised some movies are so real and true that they affect me almost profoundly, and remain in my mind for days afterwards. 'Hunger' is one such movie. It is a heart-breaking story, told in a brilliant way. Steve McQueen has directed a movie that tears up the Filmmakers rule book, and he has created a new (bleak) form of film making / storytelling. For example, in the first 20 minutes of 'Hunger' there is little or no dialogue and yet we still get an insight into various characters - the Prison Guard who looks like 'Sir' Fred Goodwin. Another example of the director tearing up the filmmakers rulebook is a scene whereby Fassbender (Bobby Sands) talks to a Priest during a long take whereby the camera does not move.Excellent movie.

This film is a "no punches pulled" re-enactment of the issues surrounding the death by starvation of Bobby Sands, which I remember following in the news during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. The film provides enough material about the treatment of IRA prisoners in "H Block" during the period to explain,I think, clearly, Sands' motives for going on hunger strike. The experience of his strike is not easy-viewing but probably accurately represents the stages he would have gone through as he starved. I would recommend the film highly, if you have an interest in the period but it's not a film which could be regarded as "entertaing" or "fun" in any way. It is absorbing and, I think, deserves to be watched and taken seriously, as a mark of respect for Sands, and those who followed him, and as an important bit of reality checking for those who think the British were decent gaolers, just trying to protect their people. There is evidence in this film of a much less clear rationale.

A very educational, frank look at the Irish no-wash protests and hunger strikes of the early 1980s. Haunting visions of men defecating and smearing their feculence up the walls, prison corridors flooded with urine, piles of left-over rancid meals in the corner of the cells and maggots writhing around in the filth make the first half of this film incredibly stomach-churning. All this is interlaced with scenes of police brutality, to create an incredibly powerful feeling of utter despair and hopelessness.The second half of the film concentrates on Bobby Sand's famous hunger strike, for which Michael Fassbender lost a dangerous amount of weight, and genuinely looks as though he's in permanent agony.This is not a film for the feint hearted.

llegó en perfectas condiciones

Toute personne intéressée par la question nord-irlandaise doit posséder ce film forcément fort.

Deeply disturbing film. A consummate first feature from renowned artist and director Steve McQueen. Has an incredible 15 to 20 minute long confessional scene with Fassbender and a priest. Stunning, actually. They even smoke two cigarettes in real time! the actors would have had to memorize the whole thing much like a play. Very difficult film to watch on account of the degradation and feces smearing. However, I would highly recommend to anyone interested in McQueen’s and/or Fassbender’s Oeuvre, and anyone interested in independent filmmaking, directing, acting and cinematography. And also anyone interested in historical drama. The detail of the Blu Ray is outstanding.

日本版はボカシ処理されていたので海外版を購入。IRAの政治犯たちは収容されている刑務所でイギリスから提供された服は着用しないで抵抗の態度を示す。主人公はイギリスへの抵抗と世界に彼らの主張を示すためハンガーストライキを決行する。日本版はボカシを入れることで彼らの主張にもボカシを入れる結果になった。

Sono incappata in questo film per caso. Alla fine ho ringraziato davvero quel caso che me l'ha fatto incontrare perchè è di sicuro uno dei migliori film che io abbia mai visto. A cominciare dalla splendida regia, coraggiosa, aggressiva, cruda, ma assolutamente delicata in alcuni punti, che lascia di stucco lo spettatore sensibile. Dai lunghi silenzi alle scene piene di grida, fino alle ultime scene, struggenti, emozionanti, che mi hanno spezzato il cuore. Michael Fassbender è forse il mio attore preferito (dopo Gary Oldman) e lo è diventato dopo questo film: ha fatto rivivere Bobby Sands con grande passione, la lotta, l'amore, la ribellione, la sensibilità, l'incredibile coraggio e la grande forza sono assolutamente rese in maniera praticamente perfetta. Senza contare il lavoro fisico che ha fatto, visibile soprattutto nella fase finale del film. Sono rimasta senza parole. Lo consiglio assolutamente!