32/13
Belfastperformed by Orbital
Scenario
When fate brings Belfast teacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed 'low life scum' Naoise and Liam Og, the needle drops on a hip hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish, they lead a movement to save their mother tongue.. Official submission of Ireland for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 97th Academy Awards in 2025.. Caitlin: A country without a language is only half a nation.. Referenced in Film Junk Podcast: Episode 961: In a Violent Nature + TIFF 2024 (2024).
There weren't any slow parts
This middle-aged man brought his teen son to see the Kneecap movie and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. It was funny and engaging, i.e. By the time the ending came, I was wanting more, at least a post-credits extra scene. I am also a fan of the music and particularly enjoyed the many parts of the movies when the movie theatre volume revved up and we got to hear their Irish language rapping on the big screen.I'm American so I need to point out that non-Irish folks need to brush up on their knowledge of the history including the Troubles which thankfully culminated in the 90s with the Good Friday agreement, as well as what's been going on in the North of Ireland/Northern Ireland the last several years, if you want to appreciate all the funny jokes and references. The complicated history can't be reduced to a couple of paragraphs but I'll try anyway.
Catholics couldn't vote
The English colonized Ireland and did all the terrible things that colonizing powers do – they stole land and resources, dispossessing the natives, and doing their best to eliminate Irish culture. Not that many centuries ago, the English made it illegal to speak the Irish language, practice Catholicism or even do Irish dancing. Rebellion attempts were brutally stamped out. The English also stamped out rebellion attempts in Scotland. The English then "planted" hundreds of thousands of loyal lowland Scots and English in the resource rich North of Ireland.
The Brits changed the very economy to suit their own profits
(The English meanwhile did their best to attempt to eliminate Highland Scottish culture (look up the euphemism "Highland Clearances") which is very similar to Irish culture due to the Irish culture/language spreading across the Irish Sea in their own time of expansion going all the way back to the 5th century. In fact, the Irish are responsible for giving Scotland its name but that's another story.)Previous invaders to Ireland (Celts, Vikings, Normans) arrived with their own different cultures but eventually all got assimilated and became Irish. The plantation, however, worked – a distinct British, loyalist, pro-Union culture/nation formed in the North of Ireland and remains there to this day.Throughout the island of Ireland, however, times were awful under British rule. Native Irish had their lands stolen, and many were given the option to rent a small portion of their former lands with exorbitant payments owed to the British landlords. Many native Irish farmers were forced to specialize in growing potatoes on their poor lands because it seemed easy to do so.
Under armed guard, the British had them exported
Unfortunately in the 1800s a blight hit the potato crops leaving them inedible. Without food to eat or sell, the Irish starved or emmigrated. What about the fish in the waters around the Island or in the Irish streams or rivers? Although there were some charitable English subjects who sent help, the English/British government adopted a laissez-faire approach, explicitly stating the "Famine" was the Irish's own fault, that they were reproducing too much thanks to their Catholic views, and that they should be left to die for the sake of population control. In some places where food was sent for the needy, in order to receive the food you had to convert to Protestantism.
