

Ireland, 1916. His Dreams Inspired Hope. His Words Ignited Passion. His Courage Forged A Nation's Destiny.
25/10/1996
Overview
Michael Collins plays a crucial role in the establishment of the Irish Free State in the 1920s, but becomes vilified by those hoping to create a completely independent Irish republic.
Geffen Pictures

Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117039
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q430535
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Review by: SPDonlan
Written by: SPDonlan on 2024-07-20T20:25:19.840Z
Like many such epics, Michael Collins is melodramatic and partial, about a past all too present. But much of the critical hostility it received/s is for offending popular pieties, imperial or republican, no less prejudiced.
Jordan wrestled with historiography and moral complexity in writing his screenplay. He understood that any historical account involves selection and even distortion, not least to persuade producers and sell tickets.
Ultimately, however, the period and place are too complex for Jordan to explain or Collins to contain: its violence is too roughly contextualized, its framing too hagiographical, and its characterization of De Valera too broad.