5 Films About The Troubles

Hunger, 2008
The feature debut of the now-revered and Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen, this feature film about Bobby Sands’ hunger strike has been labelled as a devastating, artistic masterpiece – and the accolades are well-deserved. Michael Fassbender’s name-making performance is awe-inducing, as he captures Sands’ determination as he is abused by prison guards, and uses his body and physical suffering as a political tool. As with his later work, McQueen’s understanding of the body and the power of its portrayal is unflinching, while his juxtaposition of silence and long, philosophical, dialogue-heavy scenes is fuelled with intelligence, integrity and an unparalleled ability to grab the hearts, stomachs and morals of its audience.

Bloody Sunday, 2002
Paul Greengrass’ film about the murder of 14 unarmed protesters during a civil rights march in Bogside, Derry in 1972 was initially made for TV, but proved to be such a powerful and important piece of work that it received a theatrical release. James Nesbitt hits a career high as Ivan Cooper, the politician who organised the march. Based on Don Mullan’s damning book Eyewitness Bloody Sunday, which triggered a new inquiry into the atrocity, Greengrass’ signature handheld style heightens both the intimate, character-study feel of the film, as well as the unbearable tragedy.

Some Mother’s Son, 1996
Directed by Terry George and co-written by Jim Sheridan. Some Mother’s Son is another film about the 1981 hunger strike, but told from the point of view of the hunger strikers’ mothers. Helen Mirren and Fionnula Flanagan play Kathleen Quigley and Annie Higgins, mothers fighting to save their sons’ lives, and torn when it comes to decide whether to support their sons’ cause and allow them to die, or to undermine the protest and have the men forcibly fed. Aidan Gillen and David O’Hara play the hunger strikers, but Mirren and Flanagan are the heart of the film.

In The Name Of The Father, 1993
Jim Sheridan’s searing portrayal of the arrest, trial and eventual acquittal of The Guildford Four is fuelled by rage against injustice and powerhouse performances from Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite and Emma Thompson. Day-Lewis plays Gerry Conlon, one of the men wrongfully convicted for the 1974 pub bombings, and abused by British police and prison guards for more than fourteen years. While the political courtroom drama aspect of the film is compelling, as ever, Sheridan’s tender focus on family shines through the film, and Day-Lewis and Postlethwaite’s performances as father and son are magnificent.

Maeve, 1981
Directed by Irish feminist filmmaker and lecturer Pat Murphy, Maeve was declared by former Hot Press film critic Tara Brady to be “Ireland’s first bonafide feminist film,” as it views the Troubles – and indeed history itself – from a female perspective. Mary Jackson starts as the titular Maeve, a young feminist woman who returns to her hometown of Belfast after years in London. She finds herself under constant attack – from her sister, who hates Maeve’s feminist political beliefs; from both British and Irish soldiers who sexualise and objectify her; and even her republican boyfriend who fails to recognise the political efforts of women. With a non-linear narrative and provocative stance, Maeve is a thought-provoking film about the role of women and cultural memory throughout history.

Other must-watch films include: The Outsider, The Crying Game, ’71, Elephant, MickeyBo and Me, Good Vibrations.