The Troubles refers to a violent conflict over the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. Although it had its roots in historical differences between Catholics and Protestants, its timeframe is usually marked by a civil rights march in Londonderry on October 5, 1968, and the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 1998.
A poem by William Butler Yeats speaks to the pain and the suffering wrought by this long and harrowing civil war:
"We have fed the heart on fantasies
The Heart's grown brutal from the fare
More substance in our enemies
than in our love."
Belfast
A richly human coming-of-age story about a family forced to make a difficult choice when the neighborhood that has always been their home succumbs to violence between Catholics and Protestants.
Bloody Sunday
A documentary-like account of the cold-blooded murder by English soldiers of 13 unarmed and peaceful demonstrators in a nonviolent march in Derry, Ireland, in 1972
The Boxer
A well-acted drama that salutes the moral fiber of a former IRA member who has just served a 14-year prison term and is fed up with violence.
Cal
A taut, compelling film about the tension, distrust and senseless violence in contemporary Northern Ireland.
The Crying Game
A creative film with a surprising plot twist about a British soldier kidnapped by IRA terrorists.
Five Minutes of Heaven
An emotionally gripping drama about two men given a chance to reconcile with each other after many years of inner torment and anger.
In the Name of the Father
A riveting drama about a miscarriage of justice and the suffering of a family who are wrongly imprisoned in Belfast during 1975.
The Journey
A story inspired by historical events that illustrates the process whereby enemies can become friends; the protagonists are Protestant Ian Paisley and Catholic Martin McGuinness.
Shadow Dancer
A gripping depiction of distrust as a vicious fire that consumes those who give in to its power.
Some Mother's Son
A substantive political drama set in 1979 about the importance of conscience and of following the imperatives of the heart.
Titanic Town
A fact-based story of a courageous and flinty housewife who tries to become a peacemaker in Northern Ireland.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley A poignant drama about Ireland in the 1920s and the violence that tears apart the fabric of community and pits brother against brother; it reveals the wounds of conflict and the ethic of violence that will emerge again in the Troubles.