Hunger

Synopsis

This stunningly intense drama, directed and co-written by the artist Steve McQueen, deals with the protests of imprisoned Provisional IRA members, who wished to be treated as political prisoners. When their demands were rejected, their response was to go on hunger strike. In long, beautifully composed takes, McQueen focuses on one inmate, Bobby Sands, who was the first to die and, as a result, became a Republican martyr. The film does not flinch from showing the brutality of the prison system and the physical effects of the strike, as well as opening a debate on its ethics and effectiveness.