Wednesday, 24 February 2010

Hunger

I found Hunger to be a very harrowing film to watch. I thought that the film was very powerful, and successfully conveyed the real life struggles that people go through for justice, which more than often go completely unrecognised.
The story followed a man who under any circumstances refused to back down because he believed so strongly about his cause. The film showed his slow deterioration, which was very disturbing to watch as a viewer. As the man became weaker, and endured horrific injuries to his body and mind, and still he would not back down.
This idea was mirrored in the film by the use of the camera. The most interesting point of which, and probably what the film is best known for, is the use of the 15 minute shot in the middle of the film. This not only showed a fantastic performance by the actors, but also portrayed the characters state of mind and helped the viewer understand endurance. The shot is so long that it creates tension, and emphasises the struggle that this man has every day with the passage of time. The shot makes every moment in the film seem longer, makign it easier for the audience to empathise with the horrors that the character has faced.
The power of the film also comes from the directors choice of showing exactly what happens to the body and mind if it is starved of food for any length of time. This is edited together with shots of the man being presented with food, which to watch as an audience is incredibly frustrating as we are used to the hero of our story surviving - we instinctivley want our hero to pull through and have a happy ending. However, this film was made to document and represent real events and therefore we do not get our happy resolution - emphasising the power of the message of the film.

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