Hunger

"Hunger"
Starring: Michael Fassbender
Rating: A-

One can literally breathe in the stench of fecal matter and human decay present in Steve McQueen's Hunger. The film chronicles the final days of the true life hunger strikes circa 1981 Northern Ireland. Most notably, the film follows one man's internal struggle and hope for future generations through the act. Michael Fassbender plays Bobby Sands, the leader of the strike who eventually died after 66 days of starvation.

The stunning revelation of this project is that it's McQueen's directorial debut. He brings his eye as an artist and fills each frame with cinematic brilliance. Hunger literally brings the viewer into the prison and has them observe the day to day happenings, none are pleasant. It's technically flawless, but contains no such conventional narrative, we don't even meet Sands until a third or more into the picture. It's a short film, just over 90 minutes, but McQueen's vision couldn't have been delivered more strikingly.

As the film opens, we meet a middle aged Maze prison guard, we watch him view his entire being in the mirror before eating breakfast, something is urking at him. Just before he leaves for work, he checks beneath his car for explosives. This first act of following this man and getting to know his world suggests that the film won't be an easy watch. The 2nd act consists of a new prisoner at Maze, his cell has walls covered in the feces of his cellmate, who resembles Charles Manson in stature. We watch these two men's day-day activities. They know how to communicate via small parcels of paper to the outside world, and when one is suspected of something, he is beaten by a dozen or so officers. The third act is about Sands' martyrdom, and that brutal decay of his body that follows.

My admiration for Hunger extends past the idea that film has its own originality and identity that surpasses other "prison" films. I'm not even sure that you would classify this as the latter term; it exists as an in the moment piece of beauty. The images and movements of the picture are based upon minimal dialogue, and long takes, one includes a 20 minute conversation between Sands and a priest. This conversation sets in place the motives of Sands' plan.

The film presents political ideas, but it's not the direction that McQueen chooses to center on. The political messages and beliefs of the strikers are the basis for the film, but the real art is how McQueen presents this material. There is little dialogue, especially in the beginning and end segments, this matters very little considering how entranced we are with the photography and the silent performances.