Most Americans, myself included, do not have much if any familiarity with Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) or the Maze Prison hunger strike of 1981. We certainly don't naturally possess enough investment to react very intimately with the events of Steve McQueen's Hunger (Criterion, 16 Feb). What I find marvelous about the film is that over the course of 96 agonizing minutes, we are driven to feel how close to us all the Hunger Strike was. I mean "agonizing" in the productive, "it hurts but it's good for you" way.
Many have already remarked that Hunger is difficult to watch, more so than the most gruesome horror films. A friend said as much to me the other day, and it reminded me of the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. This isn't because I found them hard to watch, but I had a classmate in high school, a hardcore peace activist, who recoiled while our senior History teacher made all of us watch it on VHS.
Hunger likewise makes so many of us squirm because we aren't accustomed to living in a society where these kinds of violent political movements touch our everyday lives. This film takes us outside of our bubble and shoves our face into the shit and piss and grime of the outside world beyond our homogenized borders. I can imagine some undergrad from a small-town seeing Hunger this past fall during their first semester away from home and having it irrevocably change their life and perspective.
Watching the progression of decay isn't what one would consider thrilling entertainment, but the 22-minute ideological duel between Sands and a priest is positively thrilling. Were the whole film not an effective deconstruction by way of decomposition, this scene would still pop through. Acting teachers should queue up that scene, let it run, and after ward say, "that's what lived-in is." and call off class for the rest of the semester.
Criterion's forthcoming release on Blu-ray and DVD includes a pair of interviews with McQueen and Fassbender that run about 13 minutes each and don't wear out their welcome. A 17-minute Making of Hunger piece covers additional ground and includes McQueen/Fassbender, actors Liam Cunningham (the aforementioned priest), Stuart Graham, and Brian Milligan along with writer Enda Walsh & producer Robin Gutch. It covers additional ground not touched on in the interviews and flows nicely by watching in-between them. The movie (McQueen's feature debut) speaks for itself without a commentary track with the inclusion of these extras and the 45-minute episode of the BBC's Panorama from 1981 that dealt with the strike, titled "The Provos' Last Card?". The booklet tucked inside features an essay by critic Chris Darke that is thorough and thoughtful. Amazon lists the Blu-ray for $26.99 and DVD for $29.99. It's a tough sit, but it's worth it.