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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
BALTIMORE 16.40
CLOSE YOUR EYES 13.00
IO CAPITANO 14.00
OPPONENT 15.40, 18.10
PERFECT DAYS 20:40
THE DAYS OF TREES 16.20, 20.30
THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE 13.30, 20.50
THE ZONE OF INTEREST 18:25 18.25
The IFI is supported by The Arts Council