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Hunger

Play trailer 1:33 Poster for Hunger Released Mar 20, 2009 1h 32m Drama History Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 134 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Focusing on the 1981 hunger strikes by Republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. Bobby Sands is one of a group of prisoners who first "took to the blanket" with a "dirty protest" in pursuit of their claims for recognition as political prisoners. Sands then became the first one of the group to embark on a hunger strike that was to end in his death.
Hunger

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Critics Consensus

Unflinching, uncompromising, vivid and vital, Steve McQueen's challenging debut is not for the faint hearted, but it's still a richly rewarding retelling of troubled times.

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Critics Reviews

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Keith Uhlich Time Out McQueen seems too enamored of his shorthand art-house symbolism for [the film] to truly resonate. Rated: 3/6 Jul 25, 2020 Full Review Matt Singer The Rumpus There is very little context, because on the inside, prison has no context. There is just horror. And maybe, sometimes, in the least expected places, beauty. Sep 18, 2017 Full Review Ryan Gilbey New Statesman The stylistic palette of McQueen's picture, and its grasp of cinematic vocabulary, elevate the film to a purely visceral realm, so that it seems to bypass your eyes and ears and go straight for your nerve endings. Nov 2, 2015 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review [Fassbender's] performance is a small sensation. Rated: 4/4 Aug 15, 2023 Full Review Fico Cangiano CineXpress Podcast Michael Fassbender is phenomenal in Steve McQueen's impressive and captivating feature debut. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 3.5/5 May 14, 2022 Full Review Tom Cassidy Common Sense Media It's a breathtaking piece of filming born out of a story riddled with violence, gore, maggots, and human waste. Rated: 5/5 Jan 5, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jeffrey P Not much reason for anyone with an outsider perspective to care about any aspect of this or to sympathize or empathize with anyone in it. I thought it was a mess with no flow other than the shock and awe of brutality and morbidity. Smart squeegee scene though, completing the transition from disgusting prison brutality to disgusting hospital morbidity, I guess that's why it got all the high reviews. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/25/24 Full Review Na I'm patient when it comes to slow movies but this was just terrible. The positive reviews don't make sense, even as an ‘art piece' this was a just bad movie Very little dialogue, plot, not visually appealing, not much of a soundtrack, it just seemed like a lazy job from the writer to the director. The actors were good though. The editor was fine. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/31/23 Full Review Mathilde D This movie enables me to understand the Troubles in Northern Ireland from the dissenters' perspectives. There's no better filmmaker to bring it onto the silver screen than Steve McQueen, a Briton of Caribbean roots who grew up in a household where the TV got turned off the moment Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher appeared. A visual artist by training, McQueen's mise en scene of bodily fluid as prisoners' weapons is vivid and original. Michael Fassbender's losing significant amount of weight on a diet of berry and nuts in his portrayal of Bobby Sands is emotionally triggering. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/29/23 Full Review Gvr M issa dumb movie. who eats like that Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/09/23 Full Review Audience Member I found this on TCM and, having been a student of the period, watched it and found it painfully unflinching. IMDB does a good job of describing the movies most intense moments, and Fassbenders commitment is similar to what Hanks did for Castaway, or Bale in The Mechanic. I would have liked a few minutes of follow up after Sands death, but I won't argue with Steve McQueens vision. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review dave s Steve McQueen's Hunger, essentially a film told in two parts, is a wildly stylish but dark and harrowing story of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. In the first portion, set almost entirely within the walls of a prison, IRA members convicted of acts against the state are brutalized by baton-wielding guards. With virtually no dialogue to speak of, McQueen uses stark imagery to convey the savagery that exists within the confines of the jail. The film transitions into its second act with a remarkable scene of dialogue between prisoner Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender, who is remarkable) and a priest, an approximately fifteen-minute long continuous take where Sands explains the impending hunger strike he is to embark on. Hunger pulls no punches, telling the IRA's perspective of The Troubles in unflinching detail, a grim reminder of the dangers of blind faith, imperialism and generational hatred. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Hunger

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Movie Info

Synopsis Focusing on the 1981 hunger strikes by Republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. Bobby Sands is one of a group of prisoners who first "took to the blanket" with a "dirty protest" in pursuit of their claims for recognition as political prisoners. Sands then became the first one of the group to embark on a hunger strike that was to end in his death.
Director
Steve McQueen
Screenwriter
Steve McQueen, Enda Walsh
Distributor
IFC Films
Production Co
Film 4, Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen
Genre
Drama, History
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 20, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 27, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$154.1K
Runtime
1h 32m