Bloody Sunday (DVD)

...This event became known as Bloody Sunday and was a major turning point in the history of the modern Irish troubles, catapulting the conflict into a civil war, driving many young men into the IRA and fueling a 25 year cycle of violence. ... this film starring James Nesbitt and directed by Paul Greengrass tells the story of Bloody Sunday in just one day from dawn till dusk."

One needs nothing more than this short blurb from the ...
...based on the book "Eyewitness Bloody Sunday" by Don Mullen. While I haven't read the book, what makes this more of a dramatization than a documentary is the way the script weaves stories of individuals and their private lives into the actual accounts of the events. Whether this was Greengrass' addition or taken directly from Mullen's book is immaterial. This script gives us a look into a more human side than we normally could have had. ... more

"On 30th January 1972, British Soldiers shot dead 13 unarmed civilians taking part in an anti-internment civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland. This event became known as Bloody Sunday and was a major turning point in the history of the modern Irish troubles, catapulting the conflict into a civil war, driving many young men into the IRA and fueling a 25 year cycle of violence. ... this film starring James Nesbitt and directed by Paul Greengrass tells the story of Bloody Sunday in just one day from dawn till dusk."

One needs nothing more than this short blurb from the poster (video or DVD box) to tell you the essence of the plot of this movie. Therefore, I would think it superfluous of me to add anything more than that this is not a direct documentary, but rather a dramatization of the events of that fateful day.

Some of you may be a bit surprised to find out that an Israeli would be the person to ask for this movie to be added to Ciao. Considering all of the parallels that one could make regarding Ireland and the Middle East, I'm sure most of you would have figured it would be safer for someone like me to ignore this movie in any public forum. However, if we look at it firstly as a piece of motion picture art, then no one could really consider themselves exempt from reviewing a movie that they feel strongly about. (If anyone is interested, I'll add some reference links which will help you better understand the Arab/Israeli conflict - but only at the end of this op - after the technical stuff - so that it is properly separated from the op itself.) But it has taken me quite some time to write this op up and I was a bit surprised that someone else didn't write the first review here instead of me. I can only suppose that this film wasn't all that well received in the UK, and I can understand why.

So, let me start by talking about the script. Since this is based on a true story, the screenwriter (who was also the director of this film), Paul Greengrass, had quite a bit of fodder to help him along. Of course, this movie is based on the book "Eyewitness Bloody Sunday" by Don Mullen. While I haven't read the book, what makes this more of a dramatization than a documentary is the way the script weaves stories of individuals and their private lives into the actual accounts of the events. Whether this was Greengrass' addition or taken directly from Mullen's book is immaterial. This script gives us a look into a more human side than we normally could have had. We are given a close up and personal account as seen though these people and their actions, and it doesn't really matter to the audience if that part of this movie is accurate or total fiction.

Of course, had the direction and acting not been top notch, this could have gone terribly wrong. I never cease to be amazed by the ability of UK actors to be so totally natural and believable on the screen. This film is no exception and I could find no fault with any of the performances I witnessed in this film. There was a very strong sense here that these actors were almost not playing parts at all, but actually living these hours in front of our eyes. It seems to me that this achievement can only come from excellent cooperation and teamwork of both the actors and the director. Going into individual performances would, for me, defeat the purpose of this film's feeling of wholeness. For that wholeness, kudos to them all for this.

Another thing that made this film so believable was the way that Greengrass used his cameras. Greengrass uses a simple camera technique in this film of making his footage look like we are watching a filming done by live television cameras. We've seen this tool before and it can sometimes be a bit distracting. I have to admit that there were a few moments there when the jumpy "Live TV" feel of this film also made me a bit nervous. However, in retrospect, I believe this was probably intentional as well. These shaky spots seemed to have come mostly only at the very beginning of the film, which was of scenes of just prior to the protest march. It makes perfect sense that the audience is made to feel a bit uneasy at this point, since we all know that there was a good reason for the real people who were there that day to be uneasy. Had the camera work been more slick or smooth, we might not have had the proper set-up for what was to come. Later in the film when we needed to be more focused in order to follow all of the happenings properly, these movements were replaced with smoother (but not totally smooth) and faster camera action. This, with the exception of those scenes taken in the police station, which remained very "Live TV" like, which carefully mirrored the nervousness of the police and their irrational reactions.

There's little one can say about the costume design, since it is not all that difficult to copy the styles of the early 70's in Ireland. Neither is the soundtrack going to be one where you'll leave the theater humming along, and for a film of this kind, that's probably a good thing. In fact, you might not remember much about the soundtrack of this movie at all. However, I'll simply say this - the music added to this film was done extremely tastefully. Never once did I get the feeling like the score was trying to tell me how to feel, and it never distracted me.

I cannot recall any real special effect in this move. That might mean that they were so real that they were perfect, however. And while one might also overlook something like makeup in a movie of this kind, I have to say that this would do a film of this ilk a disservice. Never once did I feel like I was watching actors splattered with ketchup. Some of the more graphic scenes - of which, thankfully, there aren't all that many - could even turn one's stomach. Adding to the realistic look of the makeup would also have to be the careful lighting of the picture. Remember, we're talking January in a town on the border of northern and southern Ireland. So even on a sunny day, there would still be a dullness to the light. Greengrass seems to have taken this into account, and used it to accentuate the dim hope that these people must have felt. When night begins to fall we also see that whatever light of hope there was to begin with has now gone out and will, from then on, lead only into more darkness and terror.

With all this talent, you might think that this is an easy movie to watch. However, the story is a difficult one to face. We see here a group of people who desperately want to be listened to, who are aching for change and for nothing more than to make their lives easier to live. But they aren't willing to do anything and everything to bring that change about. No, they want to try to do it through the system, peacefully and legally. The protest march has been carefully planned and the police informed of their intentions. Had there not been some hotheads whose irrational overreactions turned this quiet demonstration into a blood-bath, perhaps these people might have felt differently. And this film suggests (and I tend to think this is probably true) that it was this major mistake and chain of events that helped the IRA get its first strong foothold, without which they might have continued to be considered a bunch of stupid thugs and not worthy of either attention or recognition. Unfortunately, we all know to what disastrous proportions the IRA eventually grew. As with any organization of that kind, after the events of Bloody Sunday, they suddenly saw their ranks swell solely due to the anger and frustration and hate that the day's events brought on the protestors. They must have felt that there was no choice anymore, and since they also were feeling that they had nothing to lose, they were easy prey for a group like the IRA.

While I can't say that I know much about the director/screenwriter for this film, Paul Greengrass, it will certainly be a name I'll be looking out for in the future. Accolades and awards in have already been lavished on this film, and I'm sure that more will be rightfully forthcoming. If, as I mention above, you look at the whole of this film you will see that it is cohesive, intelligent and sensitive. And while the subject matter isn't strictly "entertainment", it certainly is the place where art and life come together as one. I'd say that this film isn't recommended, but rather, it should be mandatory watching.

Thanks for reading.

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Technical Stuff from:
This is a review of the film only, as per the criteria below.

http://movies.go.com/movies/B/bloodysunday_2002/

Starring James Nesbitt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Nicholas Farrell, Gerald McSorley, Kathy Keira Clarke, Gerald Crossan. Director(s) Paul Greengrass. Screenwriter(s) Paul Greengrass. Story Source(s) the book Eyewitness Bloody Sunday by Don Mullan. Studio Paramount Classics. Production Company Granada Film, Hell's Kitchen Productions, Portman Film, The Film Council (UK), The Irish Film Board
Release Date - October 4, 2002 — limited release, MPAA Rating = R - for violence and language, Genre - Historical, Docudrama, Action. Running Time =110 minutes. Country = Ireland. Media Type = Color.

Web Sites
official - http://www.paramountclassics.com/bloodysunday/index.html
memorial - http://www.geocities.com/bloodysunday1972/

"Winner of the World Cinema Award at the Sundance Film Festival and the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival..."
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Addendum: as promised, for those interested in reading an American-Arab's view of the Arab/Israeli conflict, I suggest you read the following articles:
Myths of the Middle East (http://w114.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15066)
More myths of the Middle East (http://w114.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15073)
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