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IMDb > Hunger (2008)
Hunger
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Photos (see all 7 | slideshow) Videos (see all 3)
Hunger (2008) -- The last six weeks of the life of the Irish republican hunger striker Bobby Sands.
Hunger (2008) -- Clip: Only
Hunger (2008) -- The last six weeks of the life of the Irish republican hunger striker Bobby Sands

Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   4,230 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 28% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Steve McQueen
Writers:
Steve McQueen (written by)
Enda Walsh (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Hunger on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 October 2008 (Greece) more
Genre:
Drama | History more
Tagline:
An odyssey, in which the smallest gestures become epic and when the body is the last resource for protest. more
Plot:
The last six weeks of the life of the Irish republican hunger striker Bobby Sands. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 28 wins & 14 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(157 articles)
First Look at Michael Fassbender in 'Jonah Hex'
 (From Get The Big Picture. 25 June 2009, 8:08 PM, PDT)

Hunger Review
 (From Atomic Popcorn. 22 June 2009, 5:52 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Visceral more

Cast

  (Credited cast)
Michael Fassbender ... Bobby Sands

Stuart Graham ... Ray Lohan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Helena Bereen ... Ray's mother
Larry Cowan ... Prison Guard
Liam Cunningham ... Father Moran
Helen Madden ... Mrs Sands
Des McAleer ... Mr Sands
Dennis McCambridge ... Beaten Prisoner
Liam McMahon ... Gerry
Laine Megaw ... Mrs. Lohan
Brian Milligan ... Davey
Rory Mullen ... Priest
Ben Peel ... Stephen Graves - Prison guard
Lalor Roddy ... William
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
96 min
Country:
UK | Ireland
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Australia:MA | France:-12 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | New Zealand:R16 | Sweden:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16
Company:
Blast! Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Michael Fassbender had to go on a medically monitored crash diet to portray Bobby Sands, much to the horror of those around him. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "At the Movies: Summer Special 2008/09" (2008) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
21 out of 27 people found the following comment useful:-
Visceral, 5 November 2008
9/10
Author: Instantdeath from United Kingdom

Believe it or not my path only crossed with this film on a rainy day when Quantom of Solace was sold out at the multiplex. I was aware of the historical background to the Northern Irish Troubles and the notorious Maze prison, the last thing i was wanted to see on screen was a glorified Republican political point scoring exercise. Many newspapers and MPs had been jumping on the possibility of the film being portrayed as pro IRA. I can say now with confidence that they're assumptions could not be more wrong. Hunger, is a brutal, graphic and pragmatic interpretation of what the last 6 weeks for Bobby Sands were like, frankly, a desperate decision that led to a slow and painful death, all in aid of the cause.

My two favourite parts of this film, has to be priest trying to give mass and Bobby Sands conversation with the priest and my total surprise at the dialogue between characters. I was waiting the prisoners to settle down and soak up religion, in addition when Sands stated his intention to hunger strike, i expected the priest to bombard him with sentiment and morality. What we get instead is a perfect example of how far the conflict had become removed from freverent religious belief and proliferation of beliefs, the film focuses on the sole fact that it has come a war of extermination, the exact beginnings of which have long been forgotten in the mess and carnage of Republican and Loyalist campaigns.

With the conversation with the Father Moran, i found myself identifying with his character, trying his hardest to persuade a friend from taking his life, only using morality as his last strand of defence. He states all thing unseen consequences to a immovable Bobby Sands; radicalisation of the movement, the recruitment of the loyalist paramilitaries, throwing Northern Ireland into more years of bloodshed basically Sands was lighting the touch paper because he was disillusioned with the leadership, and I have to agree with Moran's characters conclusion that it was ego driving Sands on.

I left the cinema numb, unfeeling and depressed. It was a representation of a human beings last resort for rights or recognition. I would not consider this film to be pro anything, I consider it to be a realist interpretation of the last weeks of Bobby Sands.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Hunger (2008)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
So, did it happen? (** spoilers **) rgcustomer
sands - priest dialogue help afexlynch
Hugh Laurie look-a-like lozza_dearnley
sympathy for sands? ogiekeaney
The truth josie44
region 1 dvd HolyShackles
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