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Hunger

Play trailer 1:33 Poster for Hunger 2009,  1h 32m,  Drama/ History Play Trailer Watchlist
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Stream Now Watchlist 90% 133 Reviews Tomatometer 83% 50,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
90% Tomatometer 133 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Focusing on the 1981 hunger strikes by Republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. Bobby Sands is one of a group of prisoners who first "took to the blanket" with a "dirty protest" in pursuit of their claims for recognition as political prisoners. Sands then became the first one of the group to embark on a hunger strike that was to end in his death.
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Hunger

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Hunger

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Unflinching, uncompromising, vivid and vital, Steve McQueen's challenging debut is not for the faint hearted, but it's still a richly rewarding retelling of troubled times.

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Critics Reviews

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Keith Uhlich Time Out Jul 25, 2020
3/6
McQueen seems too enamored of his shorthand art-house symbolism for [the film] to truly resonate. Go to Full Review
Matt Singer The Rumpus Sep 18, 2017
There is very little context, because on the inside, prison has no context. There is just horror. And maybe, sometimes, in the least expected places, beauty. Go to Full Review
Ryan Gilbey New Statesman Nov 2, 2015
The stylistic palette of McQueen's picture, and its grasp of cinematic vocabulary, elevate the film to a purely visceral realm, so that it seems to bypass your eyes and ears and go straight for your nerve endings. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Aug 15, 2023
4/4
[Fassbender's] performance is a small sensation. Go to Full Review
Fico Cangiano CineXpress Podcast May 14, 2022
3.5/5
Michael Fassbender is phenomenal in Steve McQueen's impressive and captivating feature debut. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Tom Cassidy Common Sense Media Jan 5, 2022
5/5
It's a breathtaking piece of filming born out of a story riddled with violence, gore, maggots, and human waste. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Leia S Jan 12, 2019 Primo grandissimo film per il regista Steve McQueen che dimostra ciò che confermerà con i suoi successivi film, un grande talento sfruttato in ogni singolo fotogramma della pellicola. Il tema è molto duro e cruento, raccontato alla perfezione mantenendo alto il rispetto e il realismo verso i delicati fatti realmente accaduti. Punti di forza del film sono senza dubbio l'interpretazione di Fassbender e le trovate registiche originali e valide. Mentre l'attore ci regala una delle sue interpretazioni migliori, il regista offre dei piani sequenza e delle inquadrature da vero maestro di cinema, con un risultato finale che risulta impressionante sotto ogni punto di vista. See more
Kylo G Nov 1, 2018 Powerful and instructive, with an amazing performance of Michael Fassbender.
Albus G Oct 10, 2018 Absolutely dreadful as entertainment. As art, brutal and effective. But I wasted two hours on dreadful non-entertainment about brutality and self-indulgent stupidity. Avoid! See more
Theodore P Sep 24, 2018 Despite a fine performance from Michael Fassbender I felt dissatisfied when the film was over.
Rey R Sep 17, 2018 the reason why cinema exists.. Hunger Hunger is a character driven biographical drama depicting the inner Irish prison world through various perspectives. Let's acknowledge the elephant in the room, it's not an easy tale to listen to. The meddled and explore subjects in here are not for everyone, it personifies the harrowing nightmares of each individual characters to a point where you start cringing on your seat. Amidst all these negative emotions, there resides a beautiful poem within it, which McQueen extracts out and paints this stunning craft through it. There aren't much verbal sparrings (and when there is, it leaves you mesmerized as it reeks of the old theatre acts to the core) in here, it is all acted out, it relies completely upon physical sequences and proves the explicit writing it contains. McQueen's world in here is "black and white", "0 and 1" and, purely opinionated where there is no room for "if's" and "but's", there is no diplomatic version that comes out of it. Its sinistes background score, the metaphorical cinematography and fine editing along with few jaw dropping shots that is a tale of its own, makes this feature rich on such technical aspects. Fassbender makes you writhe on screen with his majestic performance and flaunts his unflinching potential to carry it off such a craft all on his shoulder. McQueen triumphs on originality of the structure of the script, it is dark opera house that is equally glorifying as much as sharp it is. If it's heinous then it's because of the accuracy, if it's inedible then it's because of the honesty and if it's beautiful then it's because of the innocence. Eye popping art designing, poetic and jagged screenplay, McQueen's gut wrenching shots and Fassbender at the heart of it are the high points of the feature. Hunger is a rare art that analysis the allegory with heart wide open and points out the reason why cinema exists. See more
Sep 9, 2018 Marvelous acting, awesome story. Bobby Sands shall not be forgotten.
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Hunger

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Movie Info

Synopsis Focusing on the 1981 hunger strikes by Republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. Bobby Sands is one of a group of prisoners who first "took to the blanket" with a "dirty protest" in pursuit of their claims for recognition as political prisoners. Sands then became the first one of the group to embark on a hunger strike that was to end in his death.
Director
Steve McQueen
Screenwriter
Steve McQueen, Enda Walsh
Distributor
IFC Films
Production Co
Film 4, Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen
Genre
Drama, History
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 20, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 27, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$154.1K
Runtime
1h 32m
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