Three decades of armed conflict in Northern Ireland They featured bitter battles between siblings, political intrigue, a desperate search for justice, family dramas and heavy doses of the deadliest and most exciting violence. Given how good all of these components are in front of the camera, it’s only fitting that the turbulent period has inspired dozens and dozens of films, some of the most relevant of which are highlighted below.
Belfast (Kenneth Branagh, 2021)
Set in the summer of 1969, he sees the origins of the conflict through the eyes of a boy who watches in bewilderment as his Protestant neighborhood suddenly invades car bombs, British tanks and barricades, and ends up moving to England with his family. Fleeing sectarianism and cruelty.
71 (Yann Demange, 2014)
Although a year has passed, it is inspired by the massive raid known as Curfew on Falls Road Which took place in Belfast in 1970, which turned into a series of skirmishes between British soldiers and members of the Irish Republican Army, resulting in the deaths of about 500 people. Trapped behind enemy lines after becoming separated from his unit, a young soldier must fight his way to safety through a maze-like, eerie and deadly landscape.
Bloody Sunday (Paul Gregrass, 2002)
On January 30, 1972, V.I Derry Peaceful march for civil rights resulted in A massacre that killed 14 protesters by the same British forces that were supposed to protect them from the unitary paramilitary units. The events marked a turning point in the confrontation, as they showed that the United Kingdom’s army was not present in the territory to ensure peace, after which the support of the Catholic population for the Provisional IRA rose. As she remembers, the film resorts to the camera in hand to transfer a file Confusion, fear and stress who used to live on the streets.
In the Name of the Father (Jim Sheridan, 1993)
Reissues the arrest, trial, imprisonment, and subsequent acquittal – more than 15 years later – of Guildford Fourwrongfully convicted in 1975 of tThree attacks took place in two pubs in England. Focus on the personal journey of one of the defendants, Martin Compston (Daniel Day-Lewis), also stresses the violence and illegality of the tactics used by British institutions against IRA terrorism.
The Elephant (Alan Clark, 1989)
A total of 18 scenes and 18 murders – some multiple – and some stripped of motives and dialogue, make up this shocker. short film This represents the terrible human cost of ‘The Troubles’ and that, fixing his dispassionate gaze upon the corpse of each victim, forces us to confront the reality of violence in Ulster for what it is, neither more nor less: something ruthless, absurd and inhuman.
Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2008)
Chronicle of the last days of Bobby SandsPolitician, poet and member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who died in prison in 1981 after its formation Hunger strike for 66 Days to protest against the decision of the British government Abolition of political status for Republican prisoners. His footage emphasizes the contrast between the harshness of prison life and the increasing fragility of the human body, and strives to give a fair picture of the British officers, who were also traumatized by the violence and subjected to constant death threats.
Hidden Agenda (Ken Loach, 1990)
Inspired by a police investigation into state terrorism and “shoot to kill” policy Practiced by the British in Northern Ireland, this “thriller” uses the investigation into the murder of A.J American civil rights activist It was mistakenly linked to the IRA as a plot device to reflect on the nature of the British presence in Ulster and its impact on the administration of justice throughout the United Kingdom.
Derry Girls (2018-2022)
hiring In the 90s, the three seasons of this charming “sitcom” exude a mixture of irreverence and sentimentality despite the violent environment in which it takes place. its champions Five teenagers suffer daily from the effects of war between Catholics and Protestants, but they have more serious problems than to worry about: hormones, boys and exams, among others.
The Journey (Nick Hamm, 2016)
Imagine what the conversations of a Protestant pastor were like Ian Pasleyleader of the Democratic Unionist Party, and former member of the Irish Republican Army who became Deputy Prime Minister, Martin McGuinness, which led to the system of condominium currently prevailing in Northern Ireland. The film suggests that if two men entrenched in conflicting ideologies can talk about football or their wives and children and see each other for human beings, then Catholics and Protestants can live together in peace and harmony.
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OMAGH (The House of Travis, 2004)
On August 15, 1998, almost 4 months afterThe signing of the Good Friday peace agreementsa bombing carried out by a self-proclaimed IRA dissident group dissatisfied with the agreement. Real IRAkilling 29 people – including two pregnant women – and wounding 200 more. This docudrama vividly depicts the massacre, the desperate search for their loved ones amidst the chaos, and the subsequent battle of the victims’ families for answers and justice.
