Eye Candy #233 - "Hunger"

Hunger: A stark depiction of the 1981 IRA hunger strike in the Maze Prison, specifically the last six weeks, which resulted in the deaths of 10 prisoners due to starvation, including protest leader Bobby Sands.  IRA members had their status as political prisoners revoked by the British government, who were seeking to treat them as nothing more than common criminals.  The violence here is explicit and brutal and common place with frequent beatings, a “gauntlet” of baton-wielding guards that prisoners are forced to run naked through, guards beating prisoners so they can force haircuts on the,.  Michael Fassbender, who I really enjoy in general, is excellent as Sands, who died after 66 days into the hunger strike.  Directed by Steve McQueen (not that Steve McQueen, but rather the film artist Steve McQueen), this film is austere, graphic, powerful, and not for the faint of heart.  Liam Cunningham, who I also like, has a supporting role as Sands’ priest.  Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”