A TOUCH OF POLITICS WITH "THE BOXER"

The troubles. Do you remember what they were, readers? We don’t see them so much in the news these days as thank God those days are pretty much behind them in Ireland, but there was a time when the news bulletins every day were pretty much bound to contain some bombing or retaliation by or to the IRA. We have, naturally, had a lot of films about these bad times. And the political side of it is of course vital in understanding the problem. It is also interesting however to have films about the human consequences of these political uprisings. The Boxer is not, of course, the only one of its kind; it is however one of the better examples. Well, some combinations are just known to produce good results. Like pasta and cheese. Or coffee and chocolate. Or Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day Lewis.
Danny “Boy” Flynn (Daniel Day Lewis) used to be a professional boxer in East Belfast. But like a lot of young man in his gym, he threw in his lot with the IRA. He was one of the luckier ones in the sense that he was not killed, but he was sent to jail. When he is released 14 years later on good behavior, no one quite knows where he stands. Because although he has been true to the cause inside, in that he refused point blank to name names, he completely ignored the other IRA prisoners too. All he seemed to be interested when inside is keeping fit and keeping up his boxing, when he gets out all he seems interested in is building up the old gym, starting boxing again and hopefully turn the (already non-sectarian) gym into a place where Protestants and Catholics alike can come together and enjoy the sport. He also has another agenda: getting back with his former girlfriend (Ellen Watson). This however, will be tougher than it seems as she is now married, a mother of one and the wife of a political prisoner. Danny Boy Flynn however, is not going to give up on any of his dreams without a fight.
Danny Boy Flynn is a fascinating character in this story. He is in the strange position of being caught up between his heart and his heart. He believes in the IRA, that’s why he joined and that’s why he never gave anyone up for a cushier deal. He is, however, above and beyond anything, a boxer. And that’s really all he wants to do in life, box. Faced with endless time to think in prison, he decides that when he gets out, his heart will rule above and beyond anything. So no matter how impossible a task it seems ( the gym has gone to rack and ruin, most of the previous boxers are dead and his former trainer, now an alcoholic lives on the streets) he gives it his all. Then there is the matter of ??. She is married, and they live in a Catholic community making adultery a dangerous thing anyway; there is the added danger stemming from the fact that her wife is in jail for the IRA. And the prisoner’s wives are supposed to be above reproach in every way. Especially if they also happen to be the daughters of high-ranking IRA members. Daniel Day Lewis is brilliant as Danny Flynn; slightly awkward socially when he gets out of prison, not very good at communicating and slightly bewildered by the world outside, but at the same time doggedly determined. He is just as passionate as some of the others portrayed, who are a lot more vociferous about their beliefs and opinions, but unlike them he has a quiet determination that carries him far. Whether this is enough however, is something you will have to discover for yourselves…

SOME HISTORY, SOME POLITICS AND SOME "HUNGER"

If you looked at the summary of this film and said “God no, not another film about The Troubles!” I could actually relate to that. But if you want to watch one and decide to make it this one, you actually wouldn’t be doing that badly for yourself.
Hunger, is another true story (you may have noticed I have a soft spot for those). Through the eyes of Davey (played by Brian Milligan), a new IRA prisoner in Maze prison, we witness the “Blanket Protests” during which Republican prisoners led by Bobby Sands (played rather superbly by Michael Fassbander) protested in various ways to gain political status (one example is that since as political prisoners they would have been allowed their own clothes, the prisoners attired themselves only in their prison issue blankets and refused to wear prison uniforms – hence the name “Blanket Protests”). The various forms of non-cooperation and dissidence culminated in a hunger strike that led to the death of some of the protesters, including Bobby Sands himself.
Now once again I have to tell you, this film is not for the faint of heart. The film is, by nature, very political, and discusses the morality of the protests and the motivation of dying for a cause very effectively. But it is far from being all ideas and “heroics”. You will watch the prisoners and the guards “face off” in all its terrible glory. The film skimps on no detail, including the details of the protests (and believe me the Republican prisoners were “imaginative” ),the hunger strike and its physical effects on the strikers.
But if you force yourself past this undoubtedly disturbing side of the film, you find yourself faced with a fascinating narrative where many forms of hunger are discussed. Of course there is the physical hunger, predominant in the film but also the hunger for political rights, glory, righteousness… But at the end, my feeling was that the greatest “Hunger” was one that is not mentioned at all but to my mind was painfully present throughout the film : the hunger for peace. A thought-provoking and sensitive film you should not miss…

SOME HISTORY, SOME POLITICS AND SOME "HUNGER"

If you looked at the summary of this film and said “God no, not another film about The Troubles!” I could actually relate to that. But if you watch only one film on the subject and decided to make it this one, you actually wouldn’t be doing that badly for yourself.
Hunger, is another true story (you may have noticed I have a soft spot for those). Through the eyes of Davey (played by Brian Milligan), a new IRA prisoner in Maze prison, we witness the “Blanket Protests” during which Republican prisoners led by Bobby Sands (played rather superbly by Michael Fassbander) protested in various ways to gain political status (one example is that since as political prisoners they would have been allowed their own clothes, the prisoners attired themselves only in their prison issue blankets and refused to wear prison uniforms – hence the name “Blanket Protests”). The various forms of non-cooperation and dissidence culminated in a hunger strike that led to the death of some of the protesters, including Bobby Sands himself.
Now once again I have to tell you, this film is not for the faint of heart. The film is, by nature, very political, and discusses the morality of the protests and the motivation of dying for a cause very effectively. But it is far from being all ideas and “heroics”. You will watch the prisoners and the guards “face off” in all its terrible glory. The film skimps on no detail, including the details of the protests (and believe me the Republican prisoners were “imaginative” ),the hunger strike and its physical effects on the strikers.
But if you force yourself past this undoubtedly disturbing side of the film, you find yourself faced with a fascinating narrativewhere many forms of hunger are discussed. Of course there is the physical hunger, predominant in the film but also the hunger for political rights, glory, righteousness… But at the end, my feeling was that the greatest “Hunger” was one that is not mentioned at all but to my mind was painfully present throughout the film : the hunger for peace. A thought-provoking and sensitive film you should not miss…