Bobby Sands 66 Days

R P McMurphy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7lstA2FaFc

New documentary directed by Brendan J Byrne is to be released on the 5th August. As the title suggests, it covers the birth of an Irish republican icon through the events that unfolded in 1981

we'llallhavetea

that must make it the 598th bobby sands related movie will absolutely watch it though!

MilesMorales1

I hope this gets a relatively wide release on Friday and doesn't get sidelined by suicide squad.

irishash

I was on the Empire webpage today and came across the review for this. It got 4 out of 5 stars from the reviewer. Films about the North and the troubles do not really interest me as, like a lot of people, I lived through the effects it had on the country, but I did read the review to see if the film came across as balanced and reflected the real life and myths of Sands.

After reading the review it was hard to tell if the film is balanced, but it is quite obvious that the reviewer has a major chip on his shoulder in relation the North and the troubles. He states that "Narratives of the Northern Irish Troubles are a nightmare of bias and bull**** this superior doc does better than most in cutting through both" but yet the reviewer goes out of his way to denigrate the impact Sands had on the North, and claims that his memory is still used by those who hold power in Ireland (not Northern Ireland) cynically exploit his death.

Maybe I am reading the intent of the reviewer wrong, but when sentences start with "Still, 66 Days doesn t fully drink the Molotov cocktail" and states that interviews with Thatcher's biographer counts as a gesture towards balance, I feel that the reviewers personal political beliefs have interfered with the responsibility of providing a critical review.
LINK - http://www.empireonline.com/movies/bobby-sands-66-days/review/

LuckyLloyd

Very strong documentary. While there is nothing revelatory here for those familiar with the hunger strikes and the context around same, the energy of this recounting of events makes it a must see. Sand's own prison writings serve as an anchor, and the central thesis is that the hunger strikes were a sincere act of passionate youth whatever about how they were perceived at the time or manipulated since.

People (on either "side") will no doubt pick at the film's leanings though the perfectly balanced documentary is as mythological a concept as that of the perfect revolutionary martyr. The film offered a good spread of talking heads and never lost a focus on the realities of a most dirty conflict. It is not overly emotional either, and the footage of Sand's Mum outside the Maze in his final hours packs a gut wrenching punch when it comes for that very reason.