Post by klep on Jul 2, 2018 6:53:19 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/2: Hunger
INDEPENDENCE WEEK!
But fights for independence aren't quite so glamorous; we tend to mythologize them later. Because for all the successes in the American Revolution, what we don't spend so much time on is the losses - the times when the Revolutionary Army was more an idea than a real thing. We mention the winter at Valley Forge, but we tend to elide the suffering there on the way to talking about the triumph that came after it.
Hunger is not a movie that ignores the suffering of a fight for independence. An imprisoned member of the IRA, Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) has not given up his hope for a unified Ireland. He and his fellow inmates from the conflict see themselves as political prisoners fighting for a country, but Margaret Thatcher's Britain dismisses them as mere criminals. It's an affront to both dignity and ideology, one which Sands and his comrades have been combating with a years-long no-wash strike.
The results are revolting. The prisoners' cells have walls coated with a mix of shit and food. Prisoners are unwashed and unkempt, living amidst maggots and their own filth. As a nightly ritual they pour urine out the doors into the hall. The goal is to gain sympathy and recognition of their plight, but it's hard to do when any time they're dragged out of their cells they're given a forced grooming and bath. The guards are brutal and inhumane - too much so even for some of their own - but little headway is made. At one point a concession is made - the cells are cleaned, the prisoners provided cots and civilian clothes. But the clothes are not the prisoners' own clothes; they're garish and tasteless outfits meant to mock them. It's not an insult Sands and his fellows will accept.
Which brings us to the key sequence in the film, in which Sands talks with his priest. He's going to start a hunger strike. The priest is ardently opposed, because of the lives likely to be lost. But in a stirring 17-minute uncut shot, Bobby talks through his motivations, leading to a story about what it was like for him to go out into the Irish countryside as a lad, and the lesson he learned about what doing the right thing can cost. While the priest still urges Sands not to take his own life (as the priest sees it), this conversation has erased Sands' doubts. He is determined, and nothing will shake him from this path.
The remainder of the film is nearly wordless, jumping ahead to chronicle the slow decay of Sands' body as it eats itself. The sickly browns and yellows of the earlier sections are replaced with sterile blues and whites of the prison hospital. Sands' body is emaciated, covered with open sores. Fassbender spent 10 weeks on a 900 calorie diet to shrink himself for the role, and probably felt about as weak as he looks. But for all the pain he must feel, Sands never gives in, never touches the meals that are regularly placed before him. As his sheets are replaced with softer and softer fabrics, ultimately even those being too rough for his increasingly fragile skin, he remains resolute; devoted to his cause. And in the end, he dies, recalling the fields, forests, and rivers of a free Ireland.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/9: My Neighbor Totoro
HAPPY FILMS WEEK!
To get some much-needed cheering up, we'll next be discussing this beloved Miyazaki classic. Please join us next week for the delightful My Neighbor Totoro. It unfortunately appears to be unavailable from the normal streaming services.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/28: The Incredibles 2
Last week's podcast concluded with Brad Bird's long-awaited sequel to The Incredibles. Join us Wednesday to discuss whether it was worth the wait! The Incredibles 2 is still in theaters.
INDEPENDENCE WEEK!
Here in America we're taught to think of fights for independence as not just noble, but glorious causes. We hear about the noble Founding Fathers and the outnumbered Revolutionary Army toughing it out until they could turn the tide. We focus on the crossing of the Delaware or the Battle of Yorktown; the Shot Heard 'Round The World and the World Turned Upside Down.
Hunger is not a movie that ignores the suffering of a fight for independence. An imprisoned member of the IRA, Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) has not given up his hope for a unified Ireland. He and his fellow inmates from the conflict see themselves as political prisoners fighting for a country, but Margaret Thatcher's Britain dismisses them as mere criminals. It's an affront to both dignity and ideology, one which Sands and his comrades have been combating with a years-long no-wash strike.
The results are revolting. The prisoners' cells have walls coated with a mix of shit and food. Prisoners are unwashed and unkempt, living amidst maggots and their own filth. As a nightly ritual they pour urine out the doors into the hall. The goal is to gain sympathy and recognition of their plight, but it's hard to do when any time they're dragged out of their cells they're given a forced grooming and bath. The guards are brutal and inhumane - too much so even for some of their own - but little headway is made. At one point a concession is made - the cells are cleaned, the prisoners provided cots and civilian clothes. But the clothes are not the prisoners' own clothes; they're garish and tasteless outfits meant to mock them. It's not an insult Sands and his fellows will accept.
Which brings us to the key sequence in the film, in which Sands talks with his priest. He's going to start a hunger strike. The priest is ardently opposed, because of the lives likely to be lost. But in a stirring 17-minute uncut shot, Bobby talks through his motivations, leading to a story about what it was like for him to go out into the Irish countryside as a lad, and the lesson he learned about what doing the right thing can cost. While the priest still urges Sands not to take his own life (as the priest sees it), this conversation has erased Sands' doubts. He is determined, and nothing will shake him from this path.
The remainder of the film is nearly wordless, jumping ahead to chronicle the slow decay of Sands' body as it eats itself. The sickly browns and yellows of the earlier sections are replaced with sterile blues and whites of the prison hospital. Sands' body is emaciated, covered with open sores. Fassbender spent 10 weeks on a 900 calorie diet to shrink himself for the role, and probably felt about as weak as he looks. But for all the pain he must feel, Sands never gives in, never touches the meals that are regularly placed before him. As his sheets are replaced with softer and softer fabrics, ultimately even those being too rough for his increasingly fragile skin, he remains resolute; devoted to his cause. And in the end, he dies, recalling the fields, forests, and rivers of a free Ireland.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/9: My Neighbor Totoro
HAPPY FILMS WEEK!
To get some much-needed cheering up, we'll next be discussing this beloved Miyazaki classic. Please join us next week for the delightful My Neighbor Totoro. It unfortunately appears to be unavailable from the normal streaming services.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/28: The Incredibles 2
Last week's podcast concluded with Brad Bird's long-awaited sequel to The Incredibles. Join us Wednesday to discuss whether it was worth the wait! The Incredibles 2 is still in theaters.