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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 QUIET LOVE 18.00
HAMNET 15.30
IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY 13.10, 20.40
JEAN-LUC GODARD: ALPHAVILLE 18.20
MY FATHER’S SHADOW 13.00
NO OTHER CHOICE 13.00
SENTIMENTAL VALUE 15.20
THE BIGGER PICTURE: BEFORE SUNRISE 20.30
THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE 15.45, 18.10 (OC)
THE SECRET AGENT 20.10
The IFI is supported by The Arts Council