Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7971 in VHS
• Released on: 1998-06-02
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 111 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Terry George, the cowriter of In the Name of the Father, wrote and directed this 1996 drama based on actual events from 1981, when Irish Republican Army prisoners in Belfast's Maze Prison staged a hunger strike to protest against British prime minister Margaret Thatcher's political policies. Led by IRA prisoner Bobby Sands, the hunger strike eventually lead to the deaths of 10 prisoners, who had refused to wear prison uniforms to emphasize their identity as political (and not criminal) prisoners. But this fictionalized account is not about the hunger strikers as much as the moral dilemma faced by two of the strikers' mothers, played by Helen Mirren and Fionnula Flanagan in an emotional drama that gets right to the heart of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland. While Annie (Flanagan) understands her son's political motivations and supports his readiness to die, Kathleen (Mirren) is a pacifist who cannot comprehend how any mother could sacrifice her own son to a political principle. The women become friends despite their opposing views, and desperately hope for a compromise in Irish-British negotiations while the hunger strikers continue to wither away. By keeping the Northern Irish conflict on such a purely personal level, Some Mother's Son both clarifies and complicates the difficult issues involved, making clear arguments for both mothers' actions in the context of a milestone event in Northern Ireland's history. The film doesn't pretend to hide its anti-British position, but the cause of death on both sides is deeply acknowledged. Through Helen Mirren's richly layered performance, Some Mother's Son asks if any belief is truly worth dying for, and poses the question on powerfully personal terms. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Helen Mirren is always wonderful!
The movie is gripping and tells about the complexities involving the IRA, and the British Government. A heroic tale of men trying to fight for their freedom and the mothers who love them. The movie points out that there are no easy answers to this situation, and there are no winners--only losers, when it comes to war.

Gripping, hair-raising, touching
This film of the involvment and interaction between families in Ireland who lived their political activism and families who tried their best to avoid the conflicts, but are drawn together by circustance, is impactful. The actresses are believable and the topic is straight from the headlines. It is an insight into how you can sometimes not bury your head in the sand, no matter how hard you try. There is also good in the hardcore politicos as well as in the more main stream conservatives. Outstanding film!

Sad but true.
"Some Mother's Son" is yet another in a long list of films dealing with the strife in Ireland. This film is a thought provoking look into the world of the Irish Hunger Strike. Based around the activities of two IRA members who get captured and jailed. They fight for PoW status and begin a hunger strike to win support. One of the strikers (Bobby Sands) is elected to the British Parliament and their hopes are raised only to be dashed by Maggie Thatcher.

If you are into political, humanitarian or real life films, this film is for you.