A Mother Brings Her Son to Be Shot

The collective memory of the Troubles, which ended when the Good Friday Agreement came into effect in late 1999, has become the product of myth-making for the young men of Derry, many of whom serve in one of the innumerable local paramilitary groups. The conflict rages on in the cultural imaginary. A mural seen late in the film equates the conflicts in Derry today (which seems mostly led by paramilitary groups ostensibly fighting for reunification) with mass violence in Palestine and police brutality in Ferguson, Missouri. Young people in the town seem obsessed with conflict and violence; the young Kevin Barry shows us his weapon collection in the film’s opening minutes. When Majella is asked about it, she says she doesn’t know why he’s this way. Phillip Jr. offers up an explanation: “films”. One can imagine the film’s executive producer, The Act of Killing director Joshua Oppenheimer, taking particular interest in that answer.