Belfast, late 2010s. Two teenagers abandoned by their father, a republican activist, are plunged into delinquency. By a curious coincidence, one of them meets DJ Próvaí, a music teacher who will convince him to form the musical trio Kneecap, which will become a successful rap group in Northern Ireland.
Audience Award at the Sundance Festival last January, Kneecap, by Rich Peppiatt, is full of thunderous music and a zest for life. This carnal, raw and irreverent film recalls, without being as successful, Trainspotting. In a rap version transposed into the grey decor of Belfast.
The feature film is a fictional biography of the musical trio Kneecap, formed in Northern Ireland in the late 2010s. Its members perform wild rap, in a mixture of Irish and English, and their sound inspires Irish youth to rediscover their mother tongue.
If the scenario is a little weak (with its clichés about the redemption of lost youth; the reconciliation with the militant father on the run who became… an outdoor yoga teacher!), its message about the defense of the Irish people is very heartfelt.
The film tells us, among other things, that the British authorities have recognized Irish as an official language in the United Kingdom… only in 2022.
PHOTO HELEN SLOAN, PROVIDED BY MÉTROPOLE FILMS
Actors Naoise Ó Cairealláin and Michael Fassbender in a scene from Kneecap
Moreover, the struggle of the Irish nation to protect its language, religion and culture against British domination has echoes here. When a policeman says to the young protagonists: “Why don’t you speak the Queen’s English…”, we immediately think of Speak White, by Michèle Lalonde. And we say to ourselves that “stories are built with language, just as nations are made with stories.”
The style of Kneecap is flamboyant, its editing energetic. However, the director overuses voice-over, arbitrary cuts (jump cuts) and superimpositions on the screen. Which overloads his staging. On the other hand, his direction of actors is impeccable. The three members of the group play their own roles brilliantly and succeed in their cinema baptism.
Playing the role of the father who “sacrificed his life” and his family for the cause, Michael Fassbender (Shame, The Killer) is still right. But his character lacks depth.
We remember this passage at the beginning of the film, where he says to his son: “Every word spoken in Irish is a bullet fired for the freedom of Ireland.” This gives an idea of the tone of this violent, brutal… and hard-hitting film.
In English only with Irish dialogue subtitled in English.
Drama
Kneecap
Rich Peppiatt
With Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, JJ Ó Dochartaigh and Michael Fassbender
1 h 45