hunger Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Hunger, the intense drama from prize-winning British artist turned director Steve McQueen. Michael Fassbender stars as Bobby Sands, a controversial IRA member who was imprisoned in the infamous H-block of Belfast's Maze Prison. Sands made headlines worldwide in 1981 when he refused to eat until the British government acknowledged the IRA as a legitimate political organization. I can remember following the story day by day as it happened, so I'm quite interested in seeing Hunger, though it doesn't sound like an easy viewing experience.

The reviews have been very positive. When the film debuted at Cannes last year, Kim Voynar wrote: "It's a cinema verite approach to viewing human dignity in the face of unimaginable indignities, a grim statement about what happens when differences of opinion in social and political matters lead men to treat other men with horrific cruelty. ... It's a brilliant portrayal of a tragic moment in human history."

Hunger arrives in theaters on March 20. Click on the image below to view the poster in full, unflinching detail.

Many of this year's foreign and indie releases showed up on some of the more obscure top ten lists of 2008, and will no doubt be rolling out across the country in various irregular patterns all year long. For example, Steven Soderbergh's Che turned up on more than half a dozen lists that I saw (including our own James Rocchi's), yet most people haven't seen it yet. I have seen it, and I doubt it'll be sticking around long, though I greatly admire it. It's a deliberate attempt to subvert the current biopic formula, and though it's somewhat cold and ultimately a bit one-sided, it's also endlessly mesmerizing. Silent Light, the newest drama by the great and peculiar Mexican director Carlos Reygadas (Battle in Heaven) is also due to show up this month. Matteo Garrone's Italian gangster movie Gomorrah and Steve McQueen's British based-on-a-true-story drama Hunger have also placed well on several top ten and awards lists, and will be turning up in February and March.

The two-time Cannes champs Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have a new one, Lorna's Silence, which I haven't seen, but that has a very nice poster. (It's supposed to be coming around in June.) And James Gray (The Yards, We Own the Night), who for some mysterious reason is quite beloved in France, opened his new film, Two Lovers -- starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joaquin Phoenix -- there to great acclaim. It's due here in February. And one of my contacts tells me that Roy Andersson's outstanding deadpan Swedish comedy You, the Living, which I saw early in 2008, will finally open to theaters sometime in 2009. I'm still waiting for a release date for Kathryn Bigelow's war film Hurt Locker, but it has enough buzz that I'm not worried. I'm a little more concerned about John Woo's Chinese epic Red Cliff, which will hopefully return that master to his former glory; so far there's no U.S. release date -- and no indication that the entire, uncut film will make it over here.

Put down that leftover-turkey sandwich and pay attention! There are movies to be watched! The majors have Punisher: War Zone, Cadillac Records, and Nobel Son to amuse and/or annoy you, but the Indie Spotlight is here to tell you about the independent flicks opening in limited release today. They are: The Black Balloon, Ciao, Hunger, and Let Them Chirp Awhile. See what strikes your fancy, and keep an eye out for when it comes to your neck of the woods.

Herewith, the lowdown on each of 'em:

The Black Balloon
What it is: An Australian drama about a young man and his autistic brother. Toni Collette plays their mom.
What they're saying: Wow -- that premise sounds fraught with peril, but so far 100% of the review at Rotten Tomatoes are positive. Now we're intrigued.
Where it's playing: New York City (AMC Empire 25, Clearview's Port Washington, Cinemart Cinemas) and Los Angeles (Laemmle Town Center 5, Majestic Crest).
More info: The official site is certainly precious-looking.

Hunger
What it is: A true story about Irish hunger-striker Bobby Sands, shot with brutal, unflinching realism by up-and-coming filmmaker Steve McQueen (no relation).
What they're saying: Cinematical raved about it at Cannes, where it won prizes. At Rotten Tomatoes, an impressive 93% of the reviews are positive, often saying it's hard to watch but undeniably well-made and unforgettable.
Where it's playing: Only at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles. It's there for a one-week run to qualify for Oscar consideration; it'll be released for reals in 2009.
More info: Here's the U.K. site.

One of my favorite things to do at Telluride is talk to people in line and on the gondola about what they've seen, what they've loved, and what they've hated. The folks who come to Telluride tend to be smart folks who love film, and I always have some fascinating conversations here.

I'm hearing strong positive buzz so far for I've Loved You So Long, Hunger, Flame & Citron, The Good, the Bad and the Weird, and Happy-Go-Lucky, all of which will play Toronto. Folks here are enamored of Sally Hawkins, who plays the lead in Happy-Go-Lucky; sadly, she broke her collarbone while shooting a stunt for her latest film, and isn't here in Telluride, but she will be at Toronto.

Hearing mixed response to American Violet (I haven't seen that one, but you can read Gene's review) and Adam Resurrected; the latter is the newest from film master Paul Schrader, and his films tend to be very heavy. I saw the film yesterday, but haven't yet written up my review for it; I need a bit more time to process what I saw. I will say this much, though: Jeff Goldblum's performance in the film is one of his strongest ever. I loved him in Fay Grim, but this is a very dark, very serious role, and he is great.

Saturday's big sneak screening was Danny Boyle's newest film, Slumdog Millionaire, which is going to be one of the biggest-buzzed films coming out of Telluride and heading to Toronto. Look for the energy around this film and positive response here to help it really pop at TIFF. My review of that film is coming shortly, but for now I'll just say that it's Boyle's best film to date by far. I had a conversation last night over drinks with a screenwriter friend who noted that Slumdog is very Dickensonian in its narrative, and we both agreed that filming over in India this time seems to have opened Boyle up in unexpected ways; this is his least solipsistic film, very accessible and with great mainstream potential -- audience response at last night's sneak, the first time the film has been seen publicly, was overwhelmingly positive.

Two more days of Telluride, look for more reviews to come ...

1. People are willing to get out of bed at seven in the morning to watch a movie about people starving themselves to death. I don't care how much people paid to be here: it is simply amazing that the 8:30 am showing of Hunger (which Kim reviewed at Cannes) -- one of the most intensely unpleasant films I've ever seen, with a program description that did that aspect of it justice -- was a near-sellout at Telluride's largest venue. By the time I got to the theater at 8 am on a rainy Sunday morning, I was 259th in line. Everyone keeps saying that what "makes Telluride special" is the enthusiasm and undying cinephilia of the audience (most of whom come back year after year), and nothing epitomizes that attitude better than this morning's Hunger queue.

2. Anyone who fights to save the whales is automatically a hero, no matter his means. Just as it was remarkable to see people line up at the crack of dawn to watch an indescribably painful art film, it was disappointing to see a Telluride audience give an uncritical standing ovation to "eco-pirate" Paul Watson following a screening of Pirate of the Sea, the mediocre, one-sided documentary profiling him. Watson, a Greenpeace dissident who goes out on a boat and tries to sink or sabotage whaling or seal-hunting operations, may well be a hero, but there's no way you could fairly come to that conclusion after watching the hagiographic documentary, which takes Watson's word as gospel, and refuses to explore the troubling implications of his often violent efforts. Another documentary about Watson, called At the Edge of the World, will play Toronto; here's to hoping it's a bit more considered and thoughtful.

Mike Jones over at Variety's The Circuit Blog posted yesterday the first 27 films announced for the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)and, not surprisingly, most of them hail from previous fest premieres at Cannes, Berlin and SXSW.

The Gala Presentation will be South Korean director Kim Jee-woon's The Good, The Bad and The Weird, which I saw at Cannes earlier this year and loved. Somewhat reminiscent of Tears of the Black Tiger, the film is a crazy, busy Western that centers around a map to a treasure happened upon by a (seemingly) bumbling fool, who ends up being pursued by a good-guy law-enforcement type, a wicked bad guy dressed in black, and, at one point, an entire army. It runs a little long, but it's funny and sharp, with a spectacular chase sequence near the end and a nice final payoff. Toronto film fans should really enjoy this one.

IFC Films has acquired yet another hot Cannes title. British director Steve McQueen's Hunger has impressed a number of critics, including our own Kim Voynar, who called it "a brilliant portrayal of a tragic moment in human history." The short article on the acquisition by Anne Thompson in Variety does not reveal what distribution plans IFC may have in mind.

Michael Fassbender portrays Bobby Sands, an IRA volunteer who led a long hunger strike in 1981 while he was imprisoned on gun charges by British authorities. (More information is available at Wikipedia or the search engine of your choice.) The case stirred up a considerable amount of controversy; I remember visiting New York City at the time and being besieged by daily headlines in the Post and Daily News screaming about one side or the other.

Kim notes that the film doesn't "address the circumstances that led to these men being incarcerated" but commented in response to a reader: "I don't believe we achieve greater humanity by sinking to crass brutality in our treatment of others, regardless of how they might have wronged us ... Nonetheless, I tried to keep the focus of my review on its artistic merits, and in that respect, it's a brilliant film." I hope IFC makes Hunger as widely available as possible -- it sounds like an incredibly timely subject.

Hunger, by British artist and director Steve McQueen and Irish writer Enda Walsh, is a graphically violent, deeply brooding film about IRA volunteer Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender), who led a hunger strike in 1981 aimed at improving conditions for IRA prisoners and regaining their status as political prisoners. Sands had been convicted of handgun possession and sentenced to fourteen years in prison. At the time, IRA prisoners were held together in one of several "H-Blocks," and began their protest with a "Blanket and No-Wash Protest" beginning in 1976.

The demands of the Irish prisoners during the hunger strikes seem, in retrospect, to be relatively minor: they sought to be recognized as political prisoners (prisoners of war), and as such to not be forced to wear prison uniforms, to not be forced to have work duty, to freely associate with other prisoners, and to be entitled to a weekly visit, parcel and letter.