Michael Fassbender by Jim Maloney Page A

acting,’ said the Observer . ‘A rollicking good drama,’ agreed the Guardian . ‘Three loud cheers for The Devil’s Whore , historical drama as cutting as the lash that bloodies one agitator’s back,’ said The Times .
     
    During one break in filming, Michael flew to Cannes for the film festival in May, when Hunger was receiving its world premiere. He was joined by his parents, who watched the screening in some discomfort as their emaciated son portrayed a dying man in prison. Josef later told the Kerry newspaper the Kingdom , ‘When we saw him in the film, A [Adele] and myself were both so frightened. He looked desperate. But he had to go on a diet as the film would have looked ridiculous if he had not.’ But when the film received a standing ovation, they were mightily proud of him and what he had endured for hisart. A grinning Michael turned to his father and said, ‘It doesn’t get any better than this.’
    A first-time director, an actor in his first leading role, a grim film with scarce dialogue, subject matter which suggested limited international appeal – it would have challenged any gambler to bet on its odds of success. But in the event Hunger won the coveted Camera d’Or for Best First Feature.
    After being presented with the award, Steve McQueen said, ‘My film was about The Troubles in Northern Ireland during the 1981 hunger strikes. Within the prison, there were prison officers who I identify with and protestors who I identify with. The film is about people in a situation and what these people do. Thank you very much.’
    The film’s co-producer Laura Hastings-Smith thought the story went beyond the prison walls to strike a chord with everyone around the world. ‘We’re all absolutely thrilled, and thrilled for Steve, thrilled for the film and for everyone who’s worked on Hunger ,’ she said. ‘The key to the film was that it looked at the humanity of the story and how this place, Maze Prison, at that time in history, was a brutalising place for everyone – be you prison officer, prisoner, orderly or riot guard. It was a tragedy for everyone. We looked at what happens when dialogue stops and that has a resonance across the world.’
    After the most unpromising of initial meetings, Michael and Steve had forged an unlikely alliance, friendship and respect. Both had been on escalatingcareer paths to fame but now they stood on the brink of international acclaim and stardom. Life for both of them would change immeasurably.
    Hunger may have had the look of an art-house film – slow paced, beautifully shot, minimal dialogue – but Steve McQueen baulked at such a notion. ‘What I tried to do was make the strongest, most powerful film I could from the events and the story. It may not have the conventional narrative of most feature films but that is my way of grappling with the subject. Art has absolutely nothing to do with it,’ he told the Observer . ‘What initially brought me to the subject was the notion of what an individual is capable of doing just in order to be heard. People say, “Oh, it’s a political film,” but for me it’s essentially about what we, as humans, are capable of, morally, physically, psychologically. What we will inflict and what we can endure.’
    And to Dazed & Confused magazine, he explained, ‘Film-making is very much about telling stories. Whether I make art or films, it’s about engaging the audience.’ He rejected the suggestion that his film set out to portray Sands as a martyr but said it was ultimately uplifting. ‘The movie is a journey through H Block. You are focusing on the things you find interesting. You follow prison officers. You follow a hunger striker. A prison officer’s routine is just that: routine. But what happens to Bobby Sands is quite extraordinary. Obviously, as a storyteller, you follow that. I am not a nationalist. I am not a unionist. Thehuman element overrides all that nonsense. Before you are Irish or British, you are a