MovieChat Forums > Hunger (2008) Discussion > Good movie but that conversation scene w...

Good movie but that conversation scene was way too long


Seriously I had to skip some of it. lol

My mom couldn't take it either and fell asleep during it.

It got to the point where we were just hearing words but were in such a daze that we weren't really hearing him.

reply

Joking aren't you, best scene in the film.

reply

Agree !

reply

Best scene in film, till The Master's interrogation scene. Still think that 16 minute take in Hunger is what it is all about. 16 minutes. Never missing a beat.

If your hair is on fire, you need to act like your hair is on fire. - Senator Nina Turner

reply

Lol have you ever heard of theatre?

reply

Wow... I don't even know what to say to that. You *beep* skipped it?! That is an absolute masterpiece of a shot, and it is quintessential to the film. You and your mother ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

reply

then you "skipped" the explanation for, and pros/cons of the entire movie. Think much?

reply

As other posters have indicated, it's the best -- and most important -- scene in the entire movie. Great editing,directing and acting -- it's so obvious from the way in which it is shot that it is central to the film, and demands the viewer's complete attention throughout. It's a very intense scene, but subtly done. Great achievement.

reply

Great directing and editing? It's nearly a wide stagnant shot the entire way through. Hardly mind-blowing stuff. I was interested in seeing the film and McQueen's next work "Shame." While I think his techniques were appropriately used in the film. His direction was underwhelming. Based on the trailer of Shame I suspect it was all done by choice.

As for the scene, I have to say it did drag a little but not for the reasons the OP mentioned. I tried to keep engaged with it but never felt the urge to fast forward. Honestly, I had trouble keeping up with some of the dialogue because of the accents. It was the only real scene with dialogue and it was crucial. Maybe it was just me, though. Had the same trouble with The Wind That Shakes The Barley but I got used to it but there was little adjustment since this scene, chock full of dialogue came right in the middle of the film sort of unexpectedly. I think I got the gist of the scene though.

Don't push it. Don't push it or I'll give you a war you won't believe. Let it go.

reply

It was perfect. Did you learn this *beep* in a classroom?

There's no reason why Fassbender didn't win every award imagineable for that scene alone that year. It's what makes those award shows complete *beep*

reply

Even though the DVD menu doesn't have an option for subtitles, your DVD player should have an option to add it for this movie. That's what I used. Otherwise, I would have barely been able to understand anything they said.

reply

It's the best part of the film. In fact, you might be able to make the case that it's the most important part of the film.

I think it's amazing because it was pretty much one take. An amazing acting job between Fassbender and Cunningham (hurrah, Davos Seaworth).

reply

That sequence includes perhaps the single most impressive long take I've ever seen in a movie, at least as far as acting is concerned. And McQueen didn't even move the camera, let alone jump into a pool (Anderson) or blow up a car (Welles) at the end of the take. Amazing.

A lot of strange things happen in this world. Things you don't know about in Grand Rapids.

reply

I was going to reply to the OP but I think the rest have you have summed it up beautifully!

reply

[deleted]

I'd agree with this, the Director also uses these long set pieces in his next film Shame.

reply

I fell asleep during conversation and when I woke up, they were still talking.

reply

Personally, I thought the long conversation scene was engrossing with its point/counterpoint format. It gave insight into why Bobby Sands did what he did.
And it was also a welcome relief from the brutality and lack of dialog in the previous scenes.
That 16 minute conversation made the movie what it is. Otherwise, everything before and after would have seemed rather pointless.

reply

Personally, I thought the long conversation scene was engrossing with its point/counterpoint format. It gave insight into why Bobby Sands did what he did.
And it was also a welcome relief from the brutality and lack of dialog in the previous scenes.
That 16 minute conversation made the movie what it is. Otherwise, everything before and after would have seemed rather pointless.

You can omit the word 'personally.' Looks and sounds pretentious.

reply

And there's the problem with the attention span of the Internet age. That scene was brilliant--in its writing, its import, the confidence McQueen has in his audience to hang with it through such a long period of stationary camera, and his disregard for people who can't manage to listen to a 15- or 20-minute conversation about the rationale for one of the most important events in one of the most significant and tragic conflicts in the history of Western Europe and the world.

reply

Agreed. Has to be my favorite uncut scene in film. Period.

If your hair is on fire, you need to act like your hair is on fire. - Senator Nina Turner

reply

emncaity said:

And there's the problem with the attention span of the Internet age. That scene was brilliant--in its writing, its import, the confidence McQueen has in his audience to hang with it through such a long period of stationary camera, and his disregard for people who can't manage to listen to a 15- or 20-minute conversation about the rationale for one of the most important events in one of the most significant and tragic conflicts in the history of Western Europe and the world.


My reply is shorter than the quote, but I make no apologies - you summed this up perfectly. Absolutely well said.

reply

Eh, it's just natural brilliance, thanks...heh...

reply

You've experienced quite a backlash. I also think it was a *bit* too long, but it also served a purpose. The priest had an answer to everything Sands said...until Sands gives his account of when he was a boy. The priest was finally silent, and all he could do was give up his pack of cigarettes and leave. The culmination of this conversation justifies its length.

reply

I think in the cinema, the scene makes total sense.

At home though, with all those possible distractions, a lot harder.

I personally tuned out part way through (at home).

reply

I can't help but think OP and his mother are just trying to wind us up. That scene is the most amazing acting achievement I've yet seen up to now. Thankfully I had a subtitles assist but the first time through I couldn't concentrate on anything except: HOW much longer is this gonna go on? and I only mean that in the best possible way. It was very nearly an Olympic event! I went into this movie expecting a lot of things but not that scene. It was a privilege to watch.

reply

i wish i had subtitles...i appreciated the length of the scene and couldn't help but think of Hitchcock's Rope, but i wish i had 'heard' everything that was said.

reply

[deleted]