Terry George.
I didn't know I had a realationship with this independant film director until I found myself repeatedly in his presence of several of the films I attended during the festival. Mr. George is very talented and although he touts this first directorship as flawed, I rarely found an occassion to agree with him.
Unlike the other films to this point there was stark violence to this film. There was no getting around it. It was paramont to the context of the film. In order to understand the 'life dynamics' of the characters presented here, the violence was necessary. The violence was also not compelling to the point of glamour either. All too often in today's society, violence is the goal of films and not a back drop to the story. In this film, Terry George was able to include violent scenes of the confllict in Northern Ireland without losing the definition of longed for peace among the Brits and Irish. The context of violence in this film would bring instantly the depth of understanding of the commitment of Bobby Sands and the IRA.
The plot takes place with primarily single mothers whom have sustained grief and hardship in their lives. The women are brave beyond the ability to impart here. The two that are friends are also in conflict. Their experiences had taken them to different 'civilized' places within the Irish society only brought together by chance of a common act of violence their sons now shared. The result is a significant statement of longevity of the Irish culture spanning centuries. Also, what it took to break that culture to the point of forgiveness of it's tormentors, the British, to find a way to hold onto heritage without holding on to the violence that would finally counter the British oppression.
I left this film with clairty, but, not ridicule of the IRA. The film was made in 1996. At that point there was a ceasefire among the Irish and the Brits. I can't help believe the film also served as a reminder as to what the Irish did not want to return to and hence pushing the peace forward. This film definately was about peace with a secondary plot line of friendship along several different character relationships. It's rather interesting to realize the people most often demonized by media can actually be heroes although never recognized as such. Nothing about the violence of the circumstances is admirable, but, it definately has it's justification. In Ireland, the reasons for that justification, during the Thatcher years, no longer existed in the same way it did only a decade before. The problem was breaking down the loyality to the past and the fear it would return. It was the Irish mother that finally was the hero and not a stateman or stateswoman.
