nobbyrott Nothing to add to any of the above about conspiracy theory movies, the bit that made me laugh was when the Americans were watching an Orange parade and one turns to the other with the comment "Frightening", naturally the other agrees wholeheartedly."Frightening"??Uniformed and disciplined flute bands leading groups of smartly dressed (i.e. suit, white shirt and dark tie) males bearing the traditional Orange Order sash.Well it is Loach so we can expect nothing else.Presumably he would find Republican/Fenian parades inspiring.

Chris Lawson Whooaa! Slow down, sol1218 from Brooklyn NY.The political scene in the U.K. looked like this: Edward Heath, bachelor leader of the Conservatives, won the election in 1970. He took Britain into the then Common Market in 1973, but called an election in February 1974 when the miners forced him to declare a three-day week.The Tory slogan for the election was: Who governs Britain? The result was confused, but the message was fairly clear: Not you, matey. Labour under Harold Wilson took office with a slim majority. Wilson called a second election in October, which he won narrowly, increasing his majority slightly.He held a referendum on the Common Market in 1975, which he won by sidelining the extremists of both Left and Right. He ruled until 1976 when he resigned from politics, for reasons which were obscure at the time, but probably because he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's. It is certainly true that the Right plotted endlessly against him.Jim Callaghan, who had been Chancellor, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary, took over as P.M. and called an election after his full five-year term. (In the U.K. governments normally call elections after four years.) In fact Callaghan was forced to do so because of a move by the Scottish Nationalists. Had he called the election just a year earlier, he stood a good chance of winning, say many pundits.Meanwhile, the Conservatives had deposed Edward Heath who had lost them two elections, and Maggie Thatcher replaced him as leader. She swept to power in 1979, and as we all know, won the next two elections.Economic chaos was the watchword of the day and there were many strikes. The situation in Northern Ireland, which had started simmering with the Civil Rights movement of 1968, gradually deteriorated. The assassinated politician of the film whose name is Nevin, may well represent Airey Neave, a war hero who had escaped from the high-security Colditz Castle, a German-speaking lawyer who had attended the Nuremberg Trials and a hardline Conservative with military and security connections, who was a close adviser of Thatcher. He was blown up outside the House of Commons on March 30, 1979, by the INLA a few weeks before the election.Ken Loach has never made any secret of his sympathies for the Irish cause. His powerful film "Wind that shakes the barley", which apparently did not make much money in the U.K., had Conservative politicians fulminating about treason and lack of patriotism because of his portrayal of the brutal Black and Tans. The name was given to the ex-British army personnel and (inaccurately) also to the auxiliaries who were sent to Ireland between 1920 and 1921 to crush the IRA and Sinn Fein, but who also attacked and killed civilians. Historians agree, however, that Loach was pretty accurate in his historical recreation. The film also shows the ruthlessness of Irish-on-Irish killings in the Civil War afterwards.

revtg1-2 The British anti-terrorist police assassinate a well known member of the Irish resistance in order to blame it on members of his own organization to create an internal fight. But they also kill an American journalist who is along for the ride. Now, more than ever, they need to blame the IRA. An investigator is sent from London to "find out the truth." Unfortunately for him he is an honest cop who wrongly believes he bosses really do want him to find the truth. When he gets close he is warned to back off. He refuses and the same people out to destroy the IRA set out to destroy him. Too late he learns pawns are not allowed to have the courage of their convictions.

preppy-3 Just great political drama. It takes place in 1987 Belfast. A human rights activist (Frances McDormand) investigating British brutality against the Irish, and a police inspector (Brian Cox) are investigating the murder of one of her colleagues. They find a huge conspiracy that leads to the highest people in government.I know only the basics of the conflict in Northern Ireland, but I was able to follow the story. They shot on location and the accents are, at times, incomprehensible, but it actually adds to the movie. The movie looks grimy and bleak...as it should. The movie is VERY critical of England. McDormand and Cox are superb and the movie is very realistic...especially the ending.Sadly, this movie bombed big in America. It came out before McDormand hit it big with "Fargo" and Cox before "In the Name of the Father". Still, this is well worth seeing. Don't miss it!