''Some Mother's Son'' is a 1996 Irish-American film written and directed by Irish filmmaker

Terry George Terence George (born 20 December 1952) is an Irish screenwriter and director. Much of his film work (e.g. '' The Boxer'', '' Some Mother's Son'', and '' In the Name of the Father'') involves "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. He was nominated ...

, co-written by

Jim Sheridan Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish people, Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed three critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, ''My Left Foot'' (1989), ''The Field (1990 film), The Field'' (19 ...

, and based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike in the

Maze Prison HM Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as the Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to September 2000. On 15 ...

, in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

(IRA) prisoner Bobby Sands (played by John Lynch) led a protest against the treatment of IRA prisoners, claiming that they should be treated as

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

rather than criminals. The mothers of two of the strikers, played by

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

and Fionnula Flanagan, fight to save their sons' lives. When the prisoners go on hunger strike and become incapacitated, the mothers must decide whether to abide by their sons' wishes, or to go against them and have them forcibly fed. Helen Mirren and John Lynch had already acted together in the 1984 Troubles-related film ''

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

''. The film was screened in the ''

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

'' section at the

1996 Cannes Film Festival The 49th Cannes Film Festival took place from 9 to 20 May 1996. American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola served as jury president for the main competition. Sabine Azéma hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. British filmmaker Mike Leigh wo ...

Cast

as Kathleen Quigley * Fionnula Flanagan as Annie Higgins *

Aidan Gillen Aidan Murphy (born 1967 or 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles as Stuart Alan Jones in ''Queer as Folk (British TV series), Queer as Folk'' (1999–2000); Tommy Carcetti in ''The Wire'' (2004–20 ...

as Gerard Quigley * David O'Hara as Frank Higgins * John Lynch as Bobby Sands *

Tom Hollander Thomas Anthony Hollander (; born 25 August 1967) is a British actor. He trained with National Youth Theatre and won the Ian Charleson Award in 1992 for his performance as Witwoud in ''The Way of the World''. He made his Broadway debut in the ...

as Farnsworth * Tim Woodward as Harrington *

Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds ( ; born 9 February 1953) is a British Northern Irish actor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Love ...

as Danny Boyle * Geraldine O'Rawe as Alice Quigley * Gerard McSorley as Father Daly * Dan Gordon as Inspector McPeake * Grainne Delany as Theresa Higgins * Ciarán Fitzgerald as Liam Quigley * Robert Lang as Government Minister * Oliver Maguire as Frank Maguire *

Stephen Hogan Stephen Hogan is an Irish actor and audiobook narrator. Biography Hogan was born in August 1965 and grew up in Dartry, Dublin, Ireland. He is the son of Brian Hogan, a prominent Dublin architect, and Marie née Lawton. His grandfather, Sars ...

as Young Turk * Anthony Brophy as Prisoner's Leader * Myles Walsh as Man at Church door

Reception

The film grossed £778,960 ($1.2 million) in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and Ireland and $671,437 in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

References

External links

* * * 1996 films Films based on actual events Films set in Belfast Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Films about the Irish Republican Army Irish political drama films Castle Rock Entertainment films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Terry George 1996 drama films European Film Awards winners (films) 1981 Irish hunger strike 1996 directorial debut films Films about mother–son relationships 1990s English-language films American political drama films 1990s Irish films 1990s American films Bobby Sands {{1990s-drama-film-stub