I have been reading/watching horror/thriller books/movies
for the past fortnight. While going through my blog, I could detect a macabre
undertone in almost all my posts. Hence, I decided to watch a drama for a
change.
"Hunger" has a hunger strike at its core. The IRA
terrorists/sympathizers/ freedom fighters (one man’s terrorists being somebody
else' freedom fighters and all) have been stripped of their political status.
They are issued the regular prisoner’s clothes. They are treated as petty
criminals. They want their status to be restored and hence their leader, Bobby
Sands, decides to stop having food and go on strike along with seventy odd inmates.
The movie could have been overly maudlin in less surer
hands. However, McQueen does not direct this in a conventional manner and that
is crystal clear from the first scene itself which shows a prison officer getting
ready for his daily job.
The prison scenes are as realistic as they can get. The
viewer will start feeling claustrophobic. The shit stained walls which show the
“no wash” strike will haunt your memories. The ingenious piss disposal
mechanism, the forced shavings, the enema, the attempt at masturbation while
the other occupant of the prison cell is sleeping, the drugs passed during the
meetings with the loved ones…this covers everything and would leave you
gasping with the life like portrait.
There is a very long scene between Mr. Sands and a priest
who tries to dissuade him from the strike. It lasts for nearly twenty minutes.
It is undoubtedly the high light of the movie and blew me away with the
dialogues and the intensity shown by the actors.
The strike is shown for less than quarter length of the
movie.
The acting is top notch with Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sands stealing the show. I could not identify him in his mustache and beard
avatar. He lives the character and leaves a lasting impact.
It is movies like this that make me believe in the magical
power of art. If you want to blow your mind away, go for it. You would be
reeling from the impact days after seeing this unforgettable piece of cinema.
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