oppression is the same no matter where you go

Rating: 10/10 (8 February 2007)

I only first learned of Bloody Sunday on its thirtieth anniversary, less than a year before this movie came out. But even if you know absolutely nothing about the event, the movie will probably blow you away. We first see how, as Ivan Cooper (James Nesbitt) announces the march, the British army basically says that if the marchers get shot, it's their own fault. Later, a British general explains that there will be violence (meaning that the British army will perpetrate it).
And then, there's the massacre. It may have been the most evil, vicious thing that the British government ever did in Northern Ireland, analogous to what they did in Amritsar, what the Japanese did in Nanking, and what the US did in My Lai. Following the massacre, the army proceeds to plant weapons on people, so as to make them look like terrorists. As Cooper explains: "You have given the IRA its greatest victory." Anyway, "Bloody Sunday" is definitely a movie that I recommend, especially when we claim to be fighting terrorism. The situation in Northern Ireland may be a controversial one, but this movie shows just what it is like to live there and have experienced this event. A very good debut for director Paul Greengrass (currently nominated for Best Director for "United 93").