Hunger

In a word: Tension.

You reviewed this already and I know you really dug it. I also thought it was excellent. The 17 minute uncut dialogue scene is incredible! Worth seeing the movie just for that freakin scene alone. It gave me goosebumps. It was so amazing it actually took me OUT of the film because I was so focused on the actors doing such a great job with the continuous shot. If you watch Rope by Hitchcock you'll see that he took it even further. The only cuts in that film are when the film stock ran out (every 11 minutes or so?). So each scene was the same length and the actors had to coordinate with the cameramen and soundmen to get the blocking, tracking, focusing, movement, everything just right. If they screwed up then the whole thing had to get shot again.

Anyway, this was one hell of a debut. Maybe better than 13 Tzameti (which was an incredible debut film for a young Director). I think this is more mature, but 13 Tzameti was more entertaining. And also tense as fuck. I think you've seen it, too...

The pacing, cinematography and audio in Hunger were top notch. The acting was great. It was a powerful flick.

However, I do have beef. This movie looks like it was backed by Joseph Goebbels. It makes Triumph of the Will look like an unbiased documentary. The symbolism was really heavy handed and while McQueen says he wasn't painting these murderers as martyrs then why the fuck did he make a biblical allusion to a Pieta at the end with the UDA guard carrying out the emaciated Bobby Sands with a white towel around his waste?

Just tattoo "UDA" onto Mary's knuckles and we have a still from the film.

Caravaggio makes Jeebus look pretty ripped in this painting actually.

You get my point...

The text at the end of the film was also pretty pro-IRA in the way it was framed and presented. I didn't let the message get in the way of the art, though. The film was terrific and it wasn't nearly as overt and condescending as that PSA-of-a-film called Crash. (racism is bad, but it's not just white folk who are racist, everyone can be racist and it's all baaaaad.)

One man's freedom fighters are another man's terrorists, as they say. If this was depicting Bin Laden as Jesus then it might have a few more people irked. But like I said, political or moral judgement aside, the film was outstanding and definitely worth watching. Tremendous piece of art.

This is totally inconsequential, but the young Bobby Sands reminded me of a juvenile Danzig in the film.

Also, the piano score during the closing credits was awesome! I watched everything just to hear the whole piece.