Rating: 
Summary: Finally an attempt to present the Irish side of the story
Review: January 30, 1972 went down as one of the most horrific days in Irish history. A march scheduled in Derry, Northern Ireland to protest the British policy of internment, a policy used to lock up Irish "troublemakers" without benefit of a trial. An organization called the Derry Civil Rights Movement, a peaceful group dedicated to using non-violent tactics to effect change and supported by MP Ian Cooper, planned to march through the city in order to make their objections to the British policy well known. The British, racked by incessant troubles in Northern Ireland for years, steadfastly demanded that the march not take place. To punctuate their position, the Brits brought in the "Paras," or the British First Parachute Regiment, to break up the peace march. Throw in the usual conflict between Irish Catholics marching through a predominantly Irish Protestant neighborhood, and you can guess what happened next. The Brits panicked and opened fire on unarmed civilians, killing thirteen people and wounding many more. Immediately after the debacle, the British government went into cover-up mode. Known forever after as Bloody Sunday, the events of January 1972 continue to divide the British, Irish Catholics, and Irish Protestants.Two British filmmakers decided to examine the events leading up to the scurrilous massacre in Derry in this 2002 docudrama aptly titled "Bloody Sunday." Surprisingly, depending on what view you take concerning the mess that is Northern Ireland, the filmmakers fully support the theory that the British bear most of the responsibility for the massacre. According to the film, the British "high command" made it clear to the rank and file that there would be no march through Derry that day. An environment of inflexibility from the top down virtually guaranteed repressive violence, and so there was. Watching the film recreate the events of January 30th is a gut wrenching experience, especially as the marchers near the barricades in the Catholic Bogside neighborhood. When the Paras finally open up on the crowd, they aren't shooting rubber bullets. Protestors are executed after falling to the ground, fired upon while attempting to retrieve wounded comrades, and shot in the back as they run from the British killers. The Army claimed Irish Republican Army militants mingled with the crowd and fired first, thus provoking an appropriate response from the Paras. Yeah, right. This claim became the basis for the findings of several British inquiries into the massacre, a claim that completely ignored or marginalized the fact that the Derry Civil Rights Movement was a peaceful organization merely protesting an illegal government policy. To help construct the lengthy narrative required to put the event into context, the filmmakers focus their attentions on Irish MP Ian Cooper (James Nesbitt) and a young Irish man recently released from jail who ultimately takes part in the march with disastrous consequences. Most of the attention goes to Nesbitt's Cooper, a man stridently fighting for the right to peacefully protest the internment policy. His character roams the streets of Derry, handing out flyers about the march, attempting to keep the protest going in the face of concerns about British actions, and working hard to keep the IRA out of the picture. Simultaneously, we see the British soldiers planning their response to the protest. There's a crusty general with a no nonsense attitude about any organized activity in Northern Ireland (he simply won't have it whether it's the IRA or non-violent protestors), and his underlings who express a bit more concern about the proceedings. Of particular note are the behind the scenes looks at the Paras, young men with a lot of bravado and a negative attitude about the Irish people. Yes, the film takes these young commandos to task, but it also shows how fear of the Irish marchers led directly to murder. "Bloody Sunday" is shot using hand held cameras and dramatic fade-outs and fade-ins to add a dimension of slowly unfolding tension to the actions of the characters, and it works. I felt sick to my stomach as I watched soldiers gunning down innocent civilians, felt deeply moved as Ian Cooper anguished over having to inform families about the deaths of their loved ones, and felt my Irish blood rise as the credits rolled to the tune of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday." There is a scene towards the end of the film where Cooper holds a press conference to discuss the massacre, and he grimly tells the assembled journalists that the British just gave the IRA its greatest victory. Sure enough, the Irish Republican Army gained hundreds of recruits after the killings, a fact hammered home in the film during a scene when young men line up to receive weapons from an IRA safehouse. I cannot say I blame these kids; I would have joined up too after such an egregious incident even though violence often causes more problems than solutions. The DVD edition of "Bloody Sunday" comes with a lot of extras, including an interview with an elderly Ian Cooper about the events of January 1972, a trailer, interviews with Nesbitt and other cast members, a couple of commentaries, and a great looking widescreen transfer. We will never know for sure what exactly happened on that bloody day, but this movie goes a long way towards presenting a more balanced interpretation of events. If the British had only admitted to SOME wrongdoing in Derry, and there was British wrongdoing, many subsequent deaths may have been averted. Perhaps this film will help lead to relief of sorts for the beleaguered Irish still struggling under British influence. Whatever your view, "Bloody Sunday" is a gripping film well worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: Finally an attempt to present the Irish side of the story
Review: January 30, 1972 went down as one of the most horrific days in Irish history. A march scheduled in Derry, Northern Ireland to protest the British policy of internment, a policy used to lock up Irish "troublemakers" without benefit of a trial. An organization called the Derry Civil Rights Movement, a peaceful group dedicated to using non-violent tactics to effect change and supported by MP Ian Cooper, planned to march through the city in order to make their objections to the British policy well known. The British, racked by incessant troubles in Northern Ireland for years, steadfastly demanded that the march not take place. To punctuate their position, the Brits brought in the "Paras," or the British First Parachute Regiment, to break up the peace march. Throw in the usual conflict between Irish Catholics marching through a predominantly Irish Protestant neighborhood, and you can guess what happened next. The Brits panicked and opened fire on unarmed civilians, killing thirteen people and wounding many more. Immediately after the debacle, the British government went into cover-up mode. Known forever after as Bloody Sunday, the events of January 1972 continue to divide the British, Irish Catholics, and Irish Protestants. Two British filmmakers decided to examine the events leading up to the scurrilous massacre in Derry in this 2002 docudrama aptly titled "Bloody Sunday." Surprisingly, depending on what view you take concerning the mess that is Northern Ireland, the filmmakers fully support the theory that the British bear most of the responsibility for the massacre. According to the film, the British "high command" made it clear to the rank and file that there would be no march through Derry that day. An environment of inflexibility from the top down virtually guaranteed repressive violence, and so there was. Watching the film recreate the events of January 30th is a gut wrenching experience, especially as the marchers near the barricades in the Catholic Bogside neighborhood. When the Paras finally open up on the crowd, they aren't shooting rubber bullets. Protestors are executed after falling to the ground, fired upon while attempting to retrieve wounded comrades, and shot in the back as they run from the British killers. The Army claimed Irish Republican Army militants mingled with the crowd and fired first, thus provoking an appropriate response from the Paras. Yeah, right. This claim became the basis for the findings of several British inquiries into the massacre, a claim that completely ignored or marginalized the fact that the Derry Civil Rights Movement was a peaceful organization merely protesting an illegal government policy. To help construct the lengthy narrative required to put the event into context, the filmmakers focus their attentions on Irish MP Ian Cooper (James Nesbitt) and a young Irish man recently released from jail who ultimately takes part in the march with disastrous consequences. Most of the attention goes to Nesbitt's Cooper, a man stridently fighting for the right to peacefully protest the internment policy. His character roams the streets of Derry, handing out flyers about the march, attempting to keep the protest going in the face of concerns about British actions, and working hard to keep the IRA out of the picture. Simultaneously, we see the British soldiers planning their response to the protest. There's a crusty general with a no nonsense attitude about any organized activity in Northern Ireland (he simply won't have it whether it's the IRA or non-violent protestors), and his underlings who express a bit more concern about the proceedings. Of particular note are the behind the scenes looks at the Paras, young men with a lot of bravado and a negative attitude about the Irish people. Yes, the film takes these young commandos to task, but it also shows how fear of the Irish marchers led directly to murder. "Bloody Sunday" is shot using hand held cameras and dramatic fade-outs and fade-ins to add a dimension of slowly unfolding tension to the actions of the characters, and it works. I felt sick to my stomach as I watched soldiers gunning down innocent civilians, felt deeply moved as Ian Cooper anguished over having to inform families about the deaths of their loved ones, and felt my Irish blood rise as the credits rolled to the tune of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday." There is a scene towards the end of the film where Cooper holds a press conference to discuss the massacre, and he grimly tells the assembled journalists that the British just gave the IRA its greatest victory. Sure enough, the Irish Republican Army gained hundreds of recruits after the killings, a fact hammered home in the film during a scene when young men line up to receive weapons from an IRA safehouse. I cannot say I blame these kids; I would have joined up too after such an egregious incident even though violence often causes more problems than solutions. The DVD edition of "Bloody Sunday" comes with a lot of extras, including an interview with an elderly Ian Cooper about the events of January 1972, a trailer, interviews with Nesbitt and other cast members, a couple of commentaries, and a great looking widescreen transfer. We will never know for sure what exactly happened on that bloody day, but this movie goes a long way towards presenting a more balanced interpretation of events. If the British had only admitted to SOME wrongdoing in Derry, and there was British wrongdoing, many subsequent deaths may have been averted. Perhaps this film will help lead to relief of sorts for the beleaguered Irish still struggling under British influence. Whatever your view, "Bloody Sunday" is a gripping film well worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: Fair and evenhanded.
Review: Lets keep in mind this was done by a British film crew, and financed by British money, but I did find the story to be extraordinarily even handed and historically accurate. This message board is not supposed to be a debating forum for Unionists vs. Republicans it is to review the movie and judge it on its merits. And anyone attacking the movie on any other basis is doings so purely out of political motivation. This movie is extremely accurate and does convey the conditions, despair and sentiment of the time in Derry and the whole of Northern Ireland in the 70's. It masterfully tells the tail of 800 years of British presence in Ireland in the limited confines of a 2 hour DVD. The movie hardly serves as a rallying point for the Republican cause as some reviewers here wrongfully assert, the act itself took care of that. The movie merely depicts that specific moment in time and tells it's tale in an extremely unbiased and even handed way. Bravo.
Rating:
Summary: British Film that tells the truth about Bloody Sunday
Review: Many who watch this film may think that the IRA made it. The truth is that it is a British movie. If you do not know what Blood Sunday is then allow me to explain. On January 30th, 1972 - Catholic Irish demonstrators took to the streets of Derry in Northern Ireland for a peaceful march. On the lanes they where met by the British army who had set up barricades to keep them moving in a certain direction and away from the Protestant areas of the city. At one point some demonstrators broke away from the main group and began to attack a police barricade. Shots where heard and the army moved in with high velocity armed paratroopers turning the whole demonstration into a war zone. Innocent people where shot and killed. Some may even have been executed. The whole scene was like something out of a nightmare with British soldiers moving along the streets in uniform motion taking pot shots at what they believed to be armed IRA members. Whether or not armed IRA members where there the British army somehow managed to kill a lot of innocent people in the process and a cover-up followed to protect leading political figures - for example: How did some soliders fire more rounds than they where allocated? How did some innocent people who where shot dead end up with weapons in their pockets "after" the British army gathered them up? Who gave the order for the paratroopers to operate in the way that they did and why did groups of paratroopers go rogue and not respond to their chief in command? Bloody Sunday plays out like Saving Private Ryan with Irish catholic civilians on the receiving end instead of Nazis. It is mostly one big "action" film that could also be compared to the likes of Black Hawk Down for its urban setting. All of the cast are functional and the film does grip you and at times is extremely violent and harrowing especially when innocent people are getting shot up. This is an urban nightmare of a war film. You should try to see it. It will certainly take you by surprise and is very well produced. It is not a film that you will enjoy but you will be very glad that you watched it to know a little more about the historical conflict in Northern Ireland. This film depicts a very REAL event that happened and looks as real as it did then. Excellent production.
Rating:
Summary: gripping cinema verite triumph
Review: One of the outstanding films of 2002! The events of January 30, 1972 are familiar to most people primarily through the U2 song "Sunday Bloody Sunday." On that fateful, tragic day, a peaceful march for civil rights in Northern Ireland ended in a horrifying massacre when British troops opened fire on the demonstrators. Now, three extraordinary filmmakers - writer/director Paul Greengrass, cinematographer Ivan Strasburg, and editor Clare Douglas - have pooled their talents to give us their view of this watershed incident, one that so enraged Northern Irish Catholics that it ended up strengthening the hand of the IRA and heightening anti-British sentiment in that part of the world. "Bloody Sunday" is reminiscent of those great films from the 1960's like "The Battle of Algiers" and "Z," wherein the filmmakers successfully recreate a moment of terrifying violence in purely cinematic terms. By employing a handheld camera throughout, Greengrass achieves the kind of reality and immediacy that is only possible through cinema verite style. The camera bobs and weaves, becoming a major character in the drama. Indeed, the film feels very much like a documentary feature recorded at the actual event itself. The filmmakers do an amazing job staging the complex action, managing to view the incident from widely varied vantage points - from the marchers in the crowd, to the policemen standing by for trouble (and fomenting most of it themselves), to the demonstration's organizers, to the troop leaders at command center where the decisions for action are ostensibly being made. The crowd scenes are so well handled in this film that they could easily become a textbook case study for future filmmakers seeking to make movies in a similar vein. Greengrass also heightens the verisimilitude of the work by resisting the temptation to employ a background musical score. Instead, the "soundtrack" of the film is composed of the perpetually ringing telephones that subtly reflect the extraordinary import of the moment. Because Greengrass' main concern is in getting the physical details of the incident right, less time is, understandably, devoted to character development. Nevertheless, he still manages to bring a few of his key people to life, particularly Ivan Cooper, a member of Parliament who organized the march, a man whose guiding philosophy is that people must have the right to protest peacefully to achieve social justice. Ivan serves as the focal point for the audience, as we come to identify with his commitment, his passion, his level-headedness and his genuine concern for the people he represents. James Nesbitt does a beautiful job conveying the humanity of this Gandhi-like central figure. Greengrass also allows us to see, in telling glimpses, the differing attitudes that prevail among the citizenry of the town as well as among the policemen - both those giving the orders and those executing them - towards what is happening on screen. Indeed, there is nothing less than a superb performance in the entire cast. (In an interesting moment of visual irony, the camera catches a glimpse of a movie marquee with the words "Sunday Bloody Sunday" emblazoned on it - a reference to the famous John Schlesinger film from 1971). Some people may have trouble with this film on two counts - one ideological and the other technical. There are some who may see the movie as somewhat one-sided, biased and slanted, since clearly the British troops are seen as the Bad Guys in the incident. More serious, perhaps, is the fact that the Irish accents are so thick that those of us unaccustomed and unattuned to them may find a significant portion of the dialogue garbled and incomprehensible. That being the case, it is a blessing that the film's greatest virtues lie in its visuals. "Bloody Sunday" is an exciting, brilliantly executed tour de force that reminds us of just how powerful cinema verite can be. This is, easily, one of the very best films of recent years.
Rating:
Summary: The Gauntlet drops............
Review: Paul Greengrass has delivered the seminal cinematic essay on the origins of Ireland's troubled history. There are precious few heroes in the course of this film, and while many start out with noble intentions, the road to hell is quickly tarmacadamed. This is a gripping film shot in cinema-verite style. My Viet Namese companion was uncertain whether the film was actually a real time documentary. The film aims to lay out what happened that created such a monumental disaster and it leaves you emotionally and horrifically exhausted. This is the dropping of the gauntlet and the levels of betrayal, prejudice, manipulation, ulterior motives undercut and destroy the human fabric. What was begun as a bi-partisan civil rights march ignited a six-county corner of the Irish island into a bonfire that still has not burned out. This was arson of the soul. In the murder of this day bitter enemies would find the justificatiion for more than 30 years of murder, mayhem, gun and drug-running, brutality, rape and desecration. Pandorra's box was opened, and all manner of evil was let loose in a society that could just have easily adopted a peaceful resolution. In the aftermath of the death and destruction of this day, modern terrorism from the IRA through the UVF to the PLO and Osama Bin Laden was born and found its legs to launch attack upon attack on the dignity of life. Governments learned to collude with gangsters. Noble human values were bought, sold , subjugated to one side's polemics or another.
To Greengrass's tremendous credit, he takes no sides. He allows the tragedy to unfold objectively. This film puts the lie to the Irish American sentimentality over the IRA and sets the stage for the rapacious and vicious assault suureptitiously promulgated by Margaret Thatcher. For the purposes of this film, this is the people on the street who by little decisions, squeezes of a trigger and bewilderment at the hell let loose, open floodgates to violence here to fore unimagined. This was the singular event that brought all the snakes back to Ireland, and Greengrass films them in an unblinking fashion. Perhaps no other film, save maybe HARRISON'S FLOWERS, so effectively captures just how horribly man is capable of betraying everything that is good about him. Had we not been thrown out of Eden before this horrible day, then we'd surely have been sent packing after this. Jim Nesbitt leads a remarkable cast. At no point do you ever have the sense that these are actors. If you are sick to death of the green or orange sweater brigades who sloganize terror and murder, this is the film for you. If you are given to marching for one side or another, this film states quite clearly, God forgive you.
Rating:
Summary: Dangerous and Powerful Filmmaking
Review: Rough, dark, and foreboding, "Bloody Sunday" is anything but standard movie fare. This movie deftly explores the massacre of January 30, 1972 using a documentary format, edited in a manner to make you feel like the events are unfolding in real-time. The documentary style lends the movie an authenticity which you rarely find in mainstream movies. This makes the effects of massacre feel incredibly visceral. The movie is hard to watch for this reason. It's downright grim at times and drags the viewer along through some of the aftermath - the grieving and anger that the event caused. The scariest thing about this movie, however, is the fact that it is tough to draw the line at fact and fiction. I don't know what really happened on Bloody Sunday since this was really first exposure to it, but the movie demonizes very effectively the occupying forces. Movies like this are dangerous and exhilerating precisely because they have the ability to conflate the reality of the event with the drama of the film, but they also have the ability to be reckless in their representation of events. If things actually occurred the way that the movie depicts them, then the members of the occupying force should be ashamed of themselves. If the events of the movie inappropriately condemn that force for taking actions that they did not make, then the director should be ashamed. Watch at your own risk.
Rating: 
Summary: James Nesbitt triumphs
Review: This film truly succeeds as cinema verite: the acting is quite amazing in bringing you into the experience as authentic, quite viscerally. My appreciation of actor James Nesbitt is expanded, having really enjoyed him in the TV Drama "Cold Feet", an entirely different role (a UK "Friends" and then some. But Nesbitt is merely the most visible in an excellent cast overall.
As with all cinema verite, the viewer should not be deceived into thinking that the experience is true and unbiased-- it is indeed a tale told from one side of the controversy. Still the effort at impartiality by revealing flaws on both Irish and British parts contribute greatly to the believability of the film. Unruly Irish hooligans provoke break ranks with peaceful marchers and provoke British troops; IRA are in the wings ready to exploit any opportunity from this peaceful demonstration. The Brits are not monolithic bad guys; you have a sense of some trying to do the right thing, and an understanding, if not empathy, with how the dynamics of the situation could contribute tragic consequences. If you enjoyed this, also have a look at "In the Name of the Father" with Daniel Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite.
Rating:
Summary: Bloody Sunday
Review: This is a very powerful movie, It is remarkably unbiased and presents the facts as known. The confusion of a plan gone awry is clearly presented in a manner that makes you feel a part of the drama. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and thought the acting excellent and appropriately subdued.
Rating:
Summary: Must-See
Review: This movie has a lot of bearing on current and future events, particularly in the middle east. As mentioned previously, its a real shame this film didn't get the exposure it deserved when it came out in the theaters. If it had it would have been interesting to see the extent to which it would have gotten slammed for being "sympathetic to terrorists" or some other such smear. In anycase, as for the movie itself, it is an extremely compelling film to watch from its start til end. Very well made as well. I've heard people compare this to "Black Hawk Down" in its "gritty realism" etc. Personally I think such a comparison is probably not well made, although superficially there may be some similarity in filming techniques (use of handhelds, etc.). This is just a really well-made and chilling movie to watch. The special features are very informative as well, including an interview with the real Ivan Cooper (the main character in the movie) and a mini documentary on the making of the film, which reveals how most of the actors were not trained, an many of them were community members from Derry itself who had lived through the events or the legacy of the event of Bloody Sunday. This includes a commentary by an eyewitness who was 15 at the time of the actual massacre. The director also used former British soldiers as well to portray the ones in the movie. This is a must-see film, at least in terms of its artistic value. The degree to which it "accurately" portrays events is a debate that, like in a lot of movies with so called "political messages", won't go away. But in the sense of its story-telling value, it is essential to see this perspective - an unpopular one in this country at least given recent events. At its core it asks the question: when you're bringing armored vehicles and armed troops into occupied territories and shooting at civilians, perhaps its time to rethink debates about "the roots of terrorism." See it now.
|
