The consequences of a hunger strike are examined in Steve McQueen’s Hunger a painful though exceedingly well-made film
Film contains almost no dialogue just brutality and suffering
Hunger is the most unpleasant film I’ve seen in years. The fact that it achieves such utter repugnance on purpose executed with flawless artistry and care puts this reviewer in an awkward position. Here is an incredible one-of-a-kind film that most viewers should probably avoid if they don’t want to leave feeling revolted and miserable.
In Maze Prison Northern Ireland 1981 an IRA member refuses to wear a prison uniform and is led naked to an excrement-caked cell occupied by another naked prisoner. A prison guard grimly checks under his car for hidden explosives before driving to work where another day of horrific violence awaits him. Prisoners are rousted from their cells and beaten savagely by men in riot gear. A HazMat-suited man silently sweeps the urine out of a prison hallway and uses a pressure hose to blast finger-painted patterns of encrusted fecal matter off a cell wall.
Hardly any dialogue is heard at all until the one-hour mark when prisoner Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) sits down at a table with a Catholic priest (Liam Cunningham) for an extraordinary negotiation scene in which Sands explains what he is prepared to do and why. Most of the scene is captured in a single extremely long take without edits. Every word of this exchange is fascinating. Sands is preparing to lead his fellow prisoners in a hunger strike to appeal for political prisoner status.
No prison guard could be as cruel as the hunger strikers are to themselves. As his organs shut down and weeping sores appear on his emaciated body Sands continues his vigil with silent determination. The attitude of the guards changes from antagonism to pity as they try to provide comfort for Sands’ sstarving crumpled frame.
Dispensing with most of the trappings of what we call a feature film Hunger maintains a Passion of the Christ -like focus on suffering. Admirers of this film will describe it as powerful uncompromising and unforgettable but squeamish viewers should be very careful about what kind of unforgettable images they allow into their heads. Very little history or context is provided for the horrors we witness; we are told little about the IRA or the privileges they are starving themselves for. This is virtually a silent film or a non-narrative mood piece depicting real life events that resemble Hell on Earth.
