Thank you to everyone who made it out for La La Land, we had a good group, good discussion and of course, great food!
For the month of March, I've decided to continue the trend of the past few years of showing something Irish in honor of St. Patrick's Day, so for this month, we will be watching Neil Jordan's Michael Collins.
Michael Collins is a 1996 historical biopic written and directed by Neil Jordan and starring Liam Neeson as Michael Collins, the Irish patriot and revolutionary who died in the Irish Civil War. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. The film opens in the closing years of Britain’s rule over Ireland from its base in Dublin Castle, when Irish Republicans fight for Irish independence against Britain and its military and police forces. With a budget of $25 million, with 10-12% from the Irish Film Board, it was one of the most expensive films ever produced in Ireland. While filming, the breakdown of the IRA ceasefire caused the film’s release to be delayed from June to December.
The film currently has a score of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes from 47 reviews. It was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Original Score. Robert Ebert gave the film 3/4 stars saying this in his review, “Michael Collins paints a heroic picture of the Irish Republican Army’s inspired strategist and military leader, who fought the British Empire to a standstill and invented the techniques of urban guerrilla warfare that shaped revolutionary struggles all over the world. Played by Liam Neeson in a performance charged with zest and conviction, Collins comes across as a clear-sighted innovator who took the IRA as far as it could reasonably hope to go. Collins was arguably the key figure in the struggles that led to the separation of Ireland and Britain. He was also, on the basis of this film, a man able to use violence without becoming intoxicated by it. The film argues that if he had prevailed Ireland might eventually have been united, and many lives might have been saved. We will never know. But De Valera was right. History has judged Collins at his expense.”
We will be meeting Thursday, Mar. 21st at 6:15pm. Hope to see you there!
Here's the trailer:
