Essential viewing.
A few months ago, we informed you that Brendan J. Byrne’s documentary about the famous hunger striker
was set to air on the BBC but if you missed it then, now is the perfect chance for you to catch up with
66 Days.
In the spring of 1981, Bobby Sands' 66-day hunger strike brought the attention of the world to the Republican cause. Drawing on an Irish Republican tradition of martyrdom, Sands' emotive, non-violent protest to be classified as a political prisoner became a defining moment in 20th-century Irish history.
Sands' death after 66 days marked a key turning point in the relationship between Britain and Ireland and brought a global spotlight to the Northern Irish conflict which eventually triggered international efforts to resolve it. In the documentary, the filmmakers explore Sands' life and death.
In terms of its narrative approach, the documentary features a multitude of stirring quotes that were drawn from his own hunger strike diary. By adopting this approach, the viewer gets a unique insight into the man and his beliefs as he embarked on his final journey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7lstA2FaFc
Clip via - HotDocsFest
Since premiering at HotDocs in 2016, the documentary has received some very impressive reviews - it currently has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes - and it picked up an IFTA nomination last year for the Feature Documentary category.
Here's what the critics and viewers made of it.
Empire - "Narratives of the Northern Irish Troubles are a nightmare of bias and bullshit - this superior doc does better than most in cutting through both, and offers a lot to experts and noobs alike."
Total Film - "Informed, balanced and deeply humane."
NY Times - "Mr. Byrne's film is a sober, evenhanded recapitulation of Sands's imprisonment and death that places him in a historical context."
Variety -"While hardly the first and unlikely to be the last cinematic word on its subject, this finely crafted docu may well long stand as the most balanced among such treatments."
Since airing on the BBC, 66 Days really left a lasting impression on these viewers. Check it out on Netflix.
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