Set mainly within the walls of Maze prison in Northern Ireland, Hunger shows the audience the kind of horrors that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoners endured while there were held there. Their mistreatment, protests, and the conditions under which these men were forced to live eventually mounted to the 1981 Irish hunger strike. The story of these men and one in particular, Bobby Sands and the infamous events surrounding the last few weeks of his life,  is one that has been told with vigour, intelligence, and unrelenting spirit. It touches the very core and makes us feel — from fear to sympathy to anger to sadness.

Though the shocking violence and imagery portrayed throughout this film may be more than enough to turn the stomach and make anyone cringe, the earnest depiction of these real-life injustices is, in many ways, necessary to drive home the horror and capacities of what people are able to do to one another and do to themselves in the name of a cause.

Hunger premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and subsequently won the Caméra d'Or, an award given to the best feature film by a director’s debut at Cannes. Since then, the film and its participants have received continuing recognition and honours, including the 2008 Sydney Film Prize at the Sydney Film Festival, the God Hugo award at the Chicago International Film Festival, and the Discovery Award at TIFF 2008. It had also received several nominations at the 2008 British Independent Film Awards.

Director Steve McQueen deserves great praise for this film; his amazing talents behind the camera are more than evident as the story progresses through striking perspectives and excellent angles that pull the audience into the scenes and into the characters. McQueen was able to make what are usually unpleasant things (including a close-up of snow falling upon a man’s bloodied and bruised knuckles) appear almost beautiful. The now-famous scene between the characters Bobby Sands and Father Dominic Moran is the perfect example of directing at its finest and yet most sparing. The scene is an uninterrupted, motionless shot of the two men in conversation for over seventeen minutes. McQueen knew exactly how to make the most significant scene in the movie just right … Spot on, McQueen.

Applause must go out to all the principal actors, some of which were involved in scenes depicting terrible brutality. These men did an amazing job. Brian Milligan and Liam McMahon shaped their characters into symbols of enduring strength and fellowship despite hellish circumstances. Liam Cunningham and Stuart Graham are both excellent; while their roles greatly contrast in terms of viewpoint and nature, they shape them into faceted, empathy-provoking characters.

Michael Fassbender’s performance and transformation as Bobby Sands in this film is nothing short of astounding. Fassbender’s vitality and command of presence holds you as you hang on to his every word (few as they may be). Despite his startling, physical deterioration, that same determination and force of will remains in subtle ways. Fassbender’s amazing portrayal in this film has surely to proven him to be a great actor and, maybe, a soon-to-be major player in the film industry.

While the film is very focused on the struggles of the IRA prisoners, I was surprised and pleased to see that the filmmakers also took the time to reveal that there was humanity on both sides of the story — that the men who ran and worked in the prisons and in law enforcement were doing jobs that were taking a terrible toll on them as well, both physically and mentally.

While some have criticized the film for its abundantly-religious undertones and sensationalist violence, these elements hold true to what may well have been the underlying influences and cruel reality of the situation. To truly appreciate the film, we should be equally mindful of what it is and what it is not. It is not a biography or documentary; if that were the case, it would have been filmed much differently with a much more fleshed-out timeline. What is it? Well, I believe it is a representation of the severity of suffering, perseverance, and one man’s human experience. Hunger is a work of art.