Hunger

Yesterday evening I went on what is now becoming my fortnightly Barbican trip to see the film "Hunger", about the 1981 Republican Hunger Strikes in Long Kesh. The film is well shot and powerful. The events are presented factually, characters are not developed, there is little dialogue. In this post-Good Friday Agreement era, with the Chuckle Brothers of Stormont and descent into true common criminality of many paramilitary groups, it's hard to believe that the events of the film happened less than 30 years ago. Nevertheless, this was a different epoch even in Britain, with race riots in Brixton in the same year, followed by the Miners' Strikes and poll tax protests later in Thatcher's reign. (In fact, one of my first memories is of driving back from my uncle's house on the other side of Glasgow through a poll tax demo.) A sufficient amount of time has elapsed before such a film could be made. Furthermore, in today's context of Islamist terrorism and its consequences for security and civil liberties, "Hunger" is a pertinent release.