The Troubles in Ireland is something that every Irish child grows up hearing stories about from their parents or their grandparents. Whether they are from the north or south, the east or west, they grow up listening and they grow up knowing. However, even without knowing the history behind this film and without knowing about the troubles that stretched from the late 60s to the late 90s in Ireland, you can see in this film the type of life that was a reality for thousands.
Steve McQueen’s’ 2008 film Hunger fully embodies life during the troubles and the lengths people were willing to go to for their country. This historical drama shows the trials and tribulations prisoners in the Maze Prison went through in an attempt to regain political status after it had been revoked by the British government, with particular focus on the 1981 hunger strikes led by IRA member Bobby Sands.
What is different and applaudable about Hunger compared to other films about the troubles is that it does not focus entirely on how the British had wronged the Irish or vice versa, nor was it about the political past between the two nations. It focuses instead on the mistreatment of the prisoners and the determination of Bobby Sands and his fellow inmates in standing for what they believed in.
Many scenes in this film are hard to watch, there is no other way around it, but that is to be expected with a film dealing with such a delicate topic. McQueen does it justice with simple cinematography and limited dialogue, instead opting for a large chunk of the film’s dialogue to be focussed on the conversation between the characters Bobby Sands and Father Moran, where they discuss the morality of hunger strikes. Father Moran tries to dissuade Sands from going ahead, with the hunger strike ultimately being unsuccessful.
Hunger is not overly dramatic. McQueen provides us with a real film, a film that does not shy away from showing the hardships that men and woman went through, a film intent on simply telling the stories of those who suffered, those that fought and those that defended what they believed in.
Overall, McQueen delivers a well thought out, realistic historical drama film portraying the story of Bobby Sands and his willingness to die for his country and his beliefs. This film is not the easiest to watch but without a doubt well worth watching.
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