In the name of the father (film)

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Movie
German title In the name of the father
Original title In the Name of the Father
Country of production USA , Ireland , UK
original language English
Publishing year 1993
length 133 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Jim Sheridan
script Jim Sheridan
Terry George
production Jim Sheridan
music Trevor Jones
camera Peter Biziou
cut Gerry Hambling
occupation

In the Name of the Father (Original title: In the Name of the Father ) is a British-American co-production from 1993 . The film, directed by Jim Sheridan , is based on the true story of the so-called Guildford Four .

action

When petty criminal Gerry Conlon, who lives in Belfast in the 1970s, is mistaken for a sniper by soldiers of the British Army, he causes a riot on his escape from the soldiers, which also puts members of the IRA in distress. They want to punish him for it, which Gerry's father Giuseppe can prevent at the last moment.

Giuseppe advises his son to move to London, where his aunt lives, to avoid further conflicts with the IRA. Together with his friend Paul Hill, he makes his way to London, where they come into contact with the London hippie scene. You are moving into a house that has been occupied by a commune . There they meet Carole Richardson and Paddy Armstrong. After an argument, they move out again and first take possession of a park bench, which a homeless compatriot claims for himself. When they talk to the beggar, two pubs explode. On an accusation from one of the squatters, Gerry and Paul are suspected of causing the explosions and are arrested.

The UK government’s new anti-terrorism laws give police the ability to detain the accused for seven days without charge. During this time, confessions are obtained and other people arrested: Carole Richardson, Paddy Armstrong, Gerry's father Giuseppe, Gerry's aunt, her husband and their two teenage sons. On the basis of fictitious investigation results, the four main defendants are sentenced to life imprisonment, while the other defendants are sentenced to long prison terms in some cases. From prison, Gerry and his father, who shares a cell with Gerry, try to reopen the case. But even when the police arrested the real man behind the explosions and admits he was responsible for the attacks, and Gerry and the other convicts expressly exonerated, nothing happens because the police are hiding this. Giuseppe Conlon dies while in prison.

The lawyer Gareth Peirce helps Gerry by gathering files and doing long research. When visiting the court archives, the sick file publisher is represented by another officer. When the lawyer asks him for the files from Conlon, at the request of the file publisher she has them handed over to Gerry, not Giuseppe's files as before, which of the two available files she would like. There are papers on which it says literally: “Not to be shown to the defense”, that is: “May not be shown to the defense”. The file ultimately contains a lot of evidence in favor of Gerry and the others arrested, including an exculpatory testimony from the homeless man Gerry and Paul met in the park on the night of the bombing.

Fifteen years after the first trial, the case is being reopened in a new trial. After Peirce presents the new evidence, all four main defendants will be released. The other accused have already served their sentences. Gerry's late father Giuseppe, however, is not declared innocent, whereupon Gerry, as he leaves the courthouse, shouts to the crowd of demonstrators waiting outside that he will continue to fight on behalf of his father to prove his father's innocence.

Specialty

The fact that the film is based on the true story of the so-called Guildford Four created tension in British-Irish relations. In Great Britain the veracity of the film has been questioned; the allegations and criticism related to the fact that the screenwriters fused several small roles into one larger role for dramaturgical reasons.

The filming of the film's prison scenes was carried out at Kilmainham Gaol , a disused Victorian prison in Dublin .

Awards

Oscar 1994

The film won the Golden Bear at the 1994 Berlinale .

Reviews

“The trial, which went down in the scandalous chronicle of the British judiciary as the 'Guilford Four' case, serves as the background for a film that pleads for justice and understanding, which touches with great emotional power. Impressive in staging, camera, editing and acting. "

- Lexicon of International Films

"Daniel Day-Lewis impressively portrays the innocent accused Gerry Conlon, who not only fights for himself but also for his father."

- critic.de

“ In the name of the father is an impressive piece of film history about a piece of recent history that has lost none of its relevance to this day. Great cinema: politically significant, emotionally moving and first-class staged. "

- René Malgo : filmstarts.de

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Review by Rene Malgo on In the Name of the Father on Filmstarts.de , last accessed on November 13, 2010.