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Director
Joe Comerford
Credits
Producer: Joe Comerford Writer: David Chapman
Principal Cast
Mark Quinn, Marion O'Loughlin, Gerry Mc Sorley, Liam Sweeney.
Category
ShortExperimental
Based on the writings of David Chapman and Jimmy Brennan, Withdrawal is about Jimmy, a heroin user in a Dublin psychiatric hospital. His thoughts and observations dominate, his subjective voice-over speculating on the lives of his companions. Jimmy leaves the hospital, returning to the city to reconcile with his loved ones, but his withdrawal leads ultimately to a dead end.
Reminiscent of American and European anti-narrative cinema, Withdrawal mixes drama, documentary, dance, music, unconventional shooting and editing techniques, to underscore the inevitability of Jimmy’s backward journey.
Regarding the insertion of a scene from the 1935 film version of the War of Independence story, Guests of the Nation, Comerford explains: “It indicates my questioning of the foundation of the Irish state – what we aspired to become against what we actually became.”
Notes by Eugene Finn
26 minutes, Ireland, 1973
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN 15:40
ARCHIVE AT LUNCHTIME: LOVE HURTS (PROGRAMME 2) 12.45
BLUE ROAD – THE EDNA O’BRIEN STORY 13:35, 20:40
HARD TRUTHS 16:10, 20:40
INGMAR BERGMAN: TO JOY 18.30
MARIA 13:30
PRESENCE 17:05
THE BIGGER PICTURE: HANDS ON A HARDBODY: THE DOCUMENTARY 18.20
THE BRUTALIST (70MM) 13:00, 19:00
The IFI is supported by The Arts Council