The Patriot Game (1979)

Join the Socialist Party for the next in our Liberation Film Series:

The Patriot Game : A Film by Arthur Mac Caig

Two days before the 91st anniversary of the Irish Rising in Dublin. What better time of year to look at the history of the Irish liberation struggle? You won't see this film very often: it's long out of print in this country, and was banned for many years in the UK. Shipped directly from Ireland, you have a chance to see this award winning documentary for free.

Sunday, April 22nd, 2pm 339 Lafayette Street (between Bleecker & Bond), Manhattan, NYC.
Hit buzzer #11; come up to the Muste Room on the 3rd Floor.
(Note, we're up a couple of flights of stairs.)
DIRECTIONS: Take 6 train to Bleecker Street or F/V train to Broadway / Lafayette.

DOWNLOAD PDF FLYER HERE

Rich in emotional images, often tender but more often terrifying the patriot game tells the story of the long and bitter battle for the 6 counties of the north of Ireland. The films introduction covers Irelands history from colonization to the territory’s division in 1922.

The Patriot Game then details the events of the decade that began in 1968. Through powerful portraits as the infamous “Bloody Sunday”

The film show the IRA at work – much of it filmed clandestinely – as they argue their cause.

Thorough and thoughtful …. Mac Caig’s film by dissecting the situation so coolly, helps emphasize, the bitterness and the confrontations. Regardless of how one may feel about politics it is a worthy and well made documentary.

"The best overview of the Northern Irish conflict that we've seen... a lucid and knowledgeable introduction put together with skill and sensitivity."—R. Ruby Rich, Chicago Reader

"This extraordinary and moving documentary reviews ten years of armed warfare by the IRA and places today's headlines in their proper political and economic context. Through vivid footage of street battles and interviews with participants, THE PATRIOT GAME forcefully debunks the twin myths that the IRA is a 'terrorist organization' fighting 'a religious war.'"—Kevin J. Kelley, The Guardian

"An excellent example of political cinema, rich in emotional images, a film which is both tender and powerful."—Morando Morandini, Il Giorno (Milan)

"Informative, vivid, and partisan. The footage of urban guerillas is extraordinary. I've seen a number of films on Northern Ireland, none have depicted the situation this graphically."—J. Hoberman, Village Voice

"An important historical background to the Irish War."—Gordon Hitchens, Variety

"THE PATRIOT GAME captures the raw spirit of Irish nationalist resistance and shows, for the first time, incidents which the British media have steadfastly refused to show."—Virginia Dignam, Morning Star (London)

"Powerful, dynamic... Extremely detailed presentation of the troubles in Northern Ireland. As an interpretation of the Republican view, it is excellent, accurate and moving."—EFLA Evaluations

** 1980 Festival Popoli (Florence) ** 1980 Rotterdam Film Festival ** 1980 Festival Cinema du Reel (Paris)

93 minutes / b&w Copyright Date: 1979

Reviews