Set during the Irish Potato Famine, in which a soldier returns to Ireland and sets about taking vengeance for his people's suffering.
Lance Daly's powerful Irish western is an artful and affecting history lesson set against the Great Famine.
Cold and relentlessly brutal, but there’s no emotional payoff.
An Irishman deserts from the British army to wreak vengeance on a hated absentee landlord in a shocking but insightful drama.
A contradictory affair, 'Black '47' offers escapist entertainment even as it touches on the very grimmest of subject matter.
Black 47 lacks the seriousness and rigour of other displaced Westerns like The Proposition and Sweet Country. But Lance Daly’s film is gripping enough to suggest Ireland’s tragic backstory is a frontier full of resonant riches.
Borrowing from lots of revisionist westerns, Lance Daly’s film isn’t subtle, but as a genre film it has a certain pulpy intensity that keeps it rattling along.
Cameo, Edinburgh from Friday October 5, 2018, until Monday October 8, 2018. More info: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee from Friday October 12, 2018, until Thursday October 18, 2018. More info: www.dca.org.uk
Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Monday October 22, 2018, until Thursday October 25, 2018. More info: www.filmhousecinema.com