Good movie or history lesson ?

Rating: 6/10 (26 March 2007)

As a movie I have spent far worse two hours, I kind of guessed the political slant it would take, being familiar with Ken Loach. Where as the British are portrayed as a cross between Gengis Kahn, Atiila The Hun and the Vikings, the Irish republicans are of course all reasonable and honourable men forced into a situation.
Its a bit ironic I watched this on the day Mr Paisley and Mr Adams have come to some 'arrangement'. The politics of Northern Ireland changed in no small way due to events in the US in 2001. It could no longer be acceptable for anyone in the US to fund a terrorist organisation.
Today it can be viewed as a reasonable is somewhat one sided version of Irish history. Had this been made pre 2001, the it would have been a dangerous piece of film making. I could just imagine the misguided Americans with their romantic view of Ireland being sucked in. Fortunately the politics of today has changed that, hopefully for good.