The highly touted international hit Hunger will come to the states for a limited theatrical run. IFC will release the film, starting on March 20th, in select cities. I say highly touted because since being shown at Cannes, the film has won 22 awards so far, and has been nominated 20 more times, including a BAFTA. Surely American audiences don’t know much about Hunger unless they are fans of international films and they pay attention to the film festival circuit. But it is a story that was enjoyed so much by world critics that it will get a shot in America. For those of you who know nothing about the film, like myself before I watched this trailer and familiarized myself with the project, here is the lowdown, according to IMDB:
“The film stars Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sands, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) (Bobby Sands was not a member of the IRA he was a member of the Irish National Liberation Army but acted with the IRA as part of a broader Irish Republican movement within the Long Kesh prison where this movie occurs) member who led the 1981 Irish hunger strike and participated in the no wash protest (led by Brendan “The Dark” Hughes) in which Republican prisoners tried to win political status. It dramatises events in the Maze prison in the six weeks prior to Sands death.”
Now I’m sure many Americans will just reject this, as they do most “foreign” films, but after watching the trailer I have to say that I may just go see it if there is a theater close enough that will play it. I don’t know much about the history involved, so I won’t even get into that. But it sure seems like it’s relative to current events ( Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay anyone?) Maybe American audiences SHOULD see this film. Maybe it will give us all a new opinion of the worst prison systems under our control. I’m not sure.
Please base your opinion solely on the trailer. Are you interested?