'Hunger' directed by Steve McQueen was on Channel 4 tonight; a second viewing gave me a chance to see if it was as impressive as I had imagined it to be the first time i'd seen it.

I remember being almost transfixed when leaving the cinema after seeing the film; with several strands of the film running through my mind. One was of having watched such an artistically visual and beautiful film, which also contained some of the most graphic violence I have ever seen on screen.

What seemed to stick out was the detail; Snow flakes falling onto the prison guards bloodied knuckles; shit smeared patterns on the walls of the prisoners, close of up of a fly trapped between wire mesh. McQueen, a former winner of the turner prize, gave us a very visually stimulating spectacle.

Michael Fassbender is just outstanding as Bobby Sands , as is Liam Cunningham as the priest. It is the exchange between these two characters half way through the film which seems to bind the film together. Either side of the conversation we have the political background to the dispute (through the well timed use of Thatchers speeches on the troubles); the inhumane conditions and brutal beatings of the inmates and a graphic depiction of Sand's deterioration after hunger strike begins. It is the conversation between Fassbender and Cunningham which gives us the political and moral arguments; real humanity expressed over life's worth, political and religious values and hopes for the future and memories of the past. McQueen shoots this in one long take (over 17 minutes long and the longest ever recorded in film) so the viewer can see the whole exchange from an impartial view, we almost feel as if we are eavesdropping on it.

I am still left with the same emotions and thoughts about the film, perhaps even more so after a second viewing. It's harrowing and artistic; but more than anything, 'Hunger' is an important film.

At the pictures

One of my plans this year was to watch more film, leading up to studying it at Glasgow in September. I've been keeping track of the films I have seen in my wee Jack Vettriano diary, whether it be films at the cinema or on Dvd.

  I was at the Glasgow film festival the at the end of February, but only managed to see 'New Town Killers' by Richard Jobson (Ex Skids frontman),  which was quite enjoyable; it showed some cracking views of Edinburgh and had a streak of twisted humour running throughout. I did try to attend 'The Age of Stupid', 'One Day Removals'  and 'Religulous' but all were sold out. 

 Tuesday night was my first introduction to Reinder Werner Fassbinder, via the Fassbinder season at the GFT in March. There' a poster collection and a documentary which you can view, as well as a Fassbinder film screened every Tuesday throughout the month, so it's quite a good introduction for myself.  'Fear Eats the Soul' was centering around an aging Cleaning lady who enters into a relationship with Ali, an immigrant worker from Morroco. I got a real sense of unease during the film, watching the hostile and disgusted reactions that the couple endured after giving the news of their marriage to friends and family and watching the relationship disintegrate as a result thereafter. Fassbinder seems to be pouring scathe not just on sections of 1970's Germany but on our society as a whole in relation to our treatment of immigrant workers.  Next up is ' The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant' next Tuesday, I will be watching with interest!