If you live in Los Angeles, you've no doubt heard horror stories about the abuse inmates have suffered at the hands of perverse jailers down at the County Jail at Twin Towers.
In "Hunger" - a new release screened at the AFI Fest - shocking scenes of prisoners being beaten with clubs by guards in riot gear are depicted on film.
Unlike the County Jail, however, the inmates portrayed in "Hunger" are political prisoners.
The prison drama is a true story which is set in Maze Prison (Northern Ireland) which recalls the highly emotional events of the IRA HUNGER STRIKE in 1981 led by Bobby Sands.
The producers describe the feature as a timely exploration which - ultimately reveals - what happens when body and mind are pushed to the uttermost limit.
In the opening scenes, filmgoers are taken aback and squirm in their seats - when one of the main characters is forced to strip down in front of a handful of pig-headed guards - and summarily humiliated into submission as he is carted off to his dreary cell.
From the offset, the stark images on screen are difficult to digest.
In one revolting scene, a prisoner scoops up handfuls of human feces and brazenly smears the flaking surface of the wall with the earthy pigment, in utter defiance.
In another, guards don riot gear - then thrust naked prisoners headlong down a narrow gauntlet - at which point they mercilessly beat and batter the inmates to a pulp.
Moments later - Sands and his cohorts - are degraded and humiliated further when guards slip on rubber gloves and conduct brutal cavity searches (at both ends).
Talk about breaking the human spirit or trampling upon a man's dignity!
But, the soldiers of fortune spit in their charges faces and fight back violently, vowing never to succumb.
Regular visits from wives, girlfriends and loved ones are a saving grace and offer up tender moments that resonate deeply, in an otherwise emotionally-charged celluloid experience that sickens the toughest hard case.
On these occasions, filmgoers chuckle over the inventiveness of the sneaks who managed to smuggle contraband in to their lovers under the very noses of the stern watchful guards ever-present.After a prison riot breaks out, there is a lock-down at H-Block, and the prisoners embark on a spirited hunger strike.
At this juncture, the audience witnesses a grueling metamorphosis as the lack of nourishment weakens the stanima, breaks down the flesh - and likewise - invites an onslaught of disease and open sores which quickly ravish the limp bodies til death.
In advance press notices, director Steve McQueen underscored the filmmaker's "Hunger" goals.
"I wanted to show what it was like to see, hear, smell, and touch in the H-Block in 1981."
"What I wanted to convey is something that you cannot find in books or archives: the ordinary and the extraordinary, of life in this prison."
"Yes, the film is also an abstraction of what it is to die for a cause."In one scene, a female politician is heard to note in a voice-over, with disdain.
"They have turned to a hunger strike for pity."
Curious, that!
When Gandhi commenced with a hunger strike on behalf of his countrymen in India, no one ever accused the spiritual leader of that lowly bid for sympathy.
The independent feature, which screened at the conservatory grounds in Los Feliz under the auspices of the AFI Fest, was shot overseas on location.
"It was not possible to film in H-Block, but a shoot in Northern Ireland was essential," noted the director.
In the final analysis, the making of the film was a coming together, he asserted.
For example, once on location with his Northern Ireland cast and crew, it became apparent how many people had been touched by the story initially when the dramatic tale unfolded in 1981.
"Remarkably," he pointed out excitedly, "everyone knew where they were when Bobby Sands died during the hunger strike. Everyone had some kind of relationship to the events at the time."
As expected, the prison scenes in "Hunger" are pretty harsh.
However, Mr. McQueen has weaved into the stark tapestry, reflective moments that resonate in an almost poetic way on occasion.
For instance, McQueen has facilitated images of bare trees and drifting snow outside the prison walls, to hint at the healing passage of time.
On occasion, there are eloquent silences and subtle perceptions about the natural order of things that speak volumes, too.
"Hunger" was shot on 2 perf 35mm with an aspect ratio of 2:35:1.
According to McQueen, by using this ratio, there's bound to be a relationship to something else in the frame which sets the stage for a powerful narrative.
Here, it is a thought-provoking, dynamic one.
Although "Hunger" is a tough ride, it is a rivetting film experience, nonetheless.
Filmmaking at its very best!
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