Spurious transcendence and underlined symbolism
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08/25/09
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Hunger (2008)
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Reviews Counted:105
Fresh:94
Rotten:11
Average Rating:7.7/10
Consensus: Unflinching, uncompromising, vivid and vital. Steve McQueen’s challenging debut is not for the faint hearted, but still a richly rewarding retelling of troubled times.
Theatrical Release:Dec 5, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: Renowned English video artist Steve McQueen's feature film debut, HUNGER, is a cinematic punch to the gut. McQueen brings a visceral intensity to his retelling of the hunger strike instigated by... [More]
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, Stuart Graham, Brian Milligan
Director: Steve McQueen
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Reviews for Hunger
Yes, "Hunger" is a fairly nasty affair and we don't even get to the starvation part until the third act.
07/21/09
If you're going to make a film about an extremist, it makes sense to tell the story using extreme or at least unusual techniques.
06/07/09
It’s as stubbornly inscrutable as its subjects.
05/15/09
"Hunger" pushes through the cliches of both prison films and political films to make something original, powerful and hard to shake.
05/08/09
Seriously brutal.
04/23/09
Steve McQueen's Hunger is a daring, brutal, vital piece of filmmaking.
04/21/09
Midway through the movie there's an epic 24-minute scene...in the claustrophobic cell block the protesters have already internalized their cause so deeply that the world of words seems distant and inconsequential.
04/17/09
Top CriticAn alternately harrowing and poetic take on the fatal 1982 hunger strike of Irish Republican Army prisoner Bobby Sands, Hunger is also one of the most impressive feature directing debuts in years.
04/17/09
It's a strength of this carefully composed, almost obsessively controlled picture that it has no interest in the conventional biographical focus on a subject.
04/17/09
Top CriticHunger is daunting and powerful work.
04/16/09
Top CriticIt's by Irish video artist Steve McQueen (yes, that's his name), and it's his visually arresting take on the 1981 hunger strike by IRA leader Bobby Sands, ultimately leading to his death, and the deaths of nine other inmates at Belfast's Maze Prison.
04/16/09
Hunger is not about the rights and wrongs of the British in Northern Ireland, but about inhumane prison conditions, the steeled determination of IRA members like Bobby Sands, and a rock and a hard place.
04/16/09
Top CriticYou can keep your 3-D, thanks. We'll take McQueen's ability to fill in all the dimensions.
04/10/09
Hunger -- the disturbing, provocative, brilliant feature debut from British director Steve McQueen -- does for modern film what Caravaggio did to Renaissance painting.
04/10/09
Top CriticOne of the most powerful things movies can do is help us understand people whose behavior seems foreign and inexplicable. By that standard, Hunger is a smashing success.
04/10/09
Relying on images more than words, it's a plea for humanity in times of insanity.
04/10/09
Top CriticHunger is an upsetting, vivid film about going to the ultimate extreme in defense of one's beliefs.
04/09/09
This is strong stuff, a tour of hell on Earth presented in scenes of unbearable tension and pulse-spiking violence. Hunger ends as something else, though, in a vision of transcendence and grace.
04/09/09
Top CriticHunger is an intense movie-going experience, one that will leave you both drained and uplifted.
04/06/09
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