Hunger is the first feature film by Turner Prize winning British Video artist Steve McQueen. It took the Caméra d’Or prize at Cannes, honoring outstanding work by a first time director. The film is gut-wrenching, but not without tact. Political themes are deeply explored, but Hunger avoids being overly preachy. The film follows the true story of the last six weeks in the life of inmate Bobby Sands, a hunger striker and member of the IRA. Because it’s based on actual historical events, it’s not too much of a spoiler to say that the film does not have a happy ending.
The structure is somewhat atypical. The film opens by following a prison guard through his daily routine, which includes powerful, slow shots of him dipping his bloody knuckles in water after beating inmates. Pensive, nearly silent scenes gradually add together to give the viewer a chilling picture of the facility and the abuses occurring there.
The camera then begins to watch the travails of a new inmate upon his arrival. He is stripped naked, refusing to don a prison uniform as part of a protest to be recognized as a political prisoner. The film continues with wordless long takes. Two prisoners in a tiny cell, walls smeared with human waste. Cleverly discreet exchanges of contraband during family visits. Body cavity searches. Brutal beatings.
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In the Terminator series an advanced computer system called Skynet makes a spontaneous leap from AI to full-fledged intelligence, which endows the network with a will and opinions of its own. This concept was considered science fiction until today, when google revealed its horrendous prejudice:
If we expect google to be an ethical entity it must be held accountable for its moral shortcomings. However, google has already proven it doesn’t only mean us harm.
Do a google image search of “belongs in prison.” The first person to appear is Chris Elliott. I thought this was a mistake–how could the man behind Cabin Boy belong in prison? So I asked google web search to clarify, “does Chris Elliott really belong in prison?” The first complete sentence on the page made its answer crystal clear: “Of course he does.”
I don’t know how google knows this, but let’s get a warrant first and ask questions later. We don’t know how many lives it could save.
The Trials of Darryl Hunt is on the short list for the Best Documentary Oscar. It’s far more than a courtroom drama, it’s the real story of an amazing man and the community around him refusing to play the roles society placed on them: Criminal, rapist, murderer. The accounts of Darryl Hunt’s various trials over twenty years are jaw dropping.
Starz Denver Film Festival, spout.com podcast
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