Extra Credit Opportunities-Film Reviews
first off, get permission to watch the film. All are rated R-violence, language
How to write a film review for me and your peers, click here
To do the film Michael Collins, click here
Michael Collins, to IRA man, as they are being followed by British agents…
“How did they know we were coming?”
“They know what we eat for breakfast.”
“There’s only one way to beat them, then-“
“What’s that?”
“Find out what THEY eat for breakfast.”Of the more than five dozen films to be released this Fall, none is likely to generate more controversy than Neil Jordan's Michael Collins, a biopic of the man who co-founded the IRA and signed the 1921 treaty that partitioned Ireland and provoked the 1922 civil war. Even before its release, the film has fanned passions in the United Kingdom, where it has been tagged with such diverse labels as "ammunition for IRA recruiting sergeants and fund-raisers" (Ruth Dudley Edwards) and "as important a film as ever to be made in Ireland about Ireland" (Art Cosgrove). Opponents are as vocal in their condemnation of the movie as supporters are in their defense of it. Not unexpectedly, writer/director Neil Jordan has been obligated to affirm the picture's integrity, stating at the Toronto Film Festival that "Most of the people who accuse me of inflaming the peace process have no interest in the peace process whatsoever." -James Berardinelli
To do the film In the Name of the Father, click here
As much as In the Name of the Father is about the true facts surrounding the conviction and eventual freeing of Gerry Conlon and his three innocent friends, the movie's primary aim is more intimate and personal: to show the development of the relationship between an estranged father and son. When Gerry and Giuseppe arrive in prison, they are virtual strangers, distant and cold. Years later, both have confronted their hidden demons and made their peace with themselves and each other.
In the Name of the Father is about victims -- those who do and don't fight back, and the different forms that those battles take. For the IRA, human life is cheap, and all targets are legitimate. For the police, it doesn't matter who's convicted, as long as the perception is that they're doing their jobs. And for the "Guilford Four", and those accused of aiding them, justice is unlikely and nebulous. -James Berardinelli
To do the film Some Mother's Son, click here
While there is a great deal of information in the film about Sinn Fein, the IRA, and the political situation in Ireland during the early 1980s (some of which is fictionalized), this is principally a tale of sacrifice and family relationships. It's about a mother being forced to confront the very real fear that her son may die for convictions that she does not share, and that it could ultimately be her responsibility to choose life or death for him.-James Berardinelli