Cal (1984)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

How sad is this?

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Many many years ago (late 80s) in a town near by I entered a record store and saw a sound track album by Mark Knopfler for a film called Cal.Recorded at the same time and place as mega hit album Brothers in Arms, in the same way as Private Investigations and Local Hero the 2 albums had been done concurrently. Cal (the Album) contains the music that was not used on BiA, for what ever reason, wrong Vibe, too much like, whatever it is Mark's intimate music at that time.Unlike Local Hero the film is a very sad, and much as I've tried to like it I cannot. Thankfully the cause of this story is now lost and hopefully forever. I wold recommend the Album to anyone, but the film to no one.

This is a slow burning romantic drama set against the backdrop of The Troubles in Northern Ireland . There's very few satisfying films that use the backdrop of The Troubles as its theme THE DEVIL'S OWN is a travesty . RESURRECTION MAN is low budget underdeveloped torture porn . Both SOME MOTHER'S SON and IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER are based on true events but suffer from artistic licence by the producers . Along with HARRY'S GAME this movie is probably the best movie on The Troubles in my opinion and it did receive much critical acclaim when it was released in the mid 1980s . Sadly when I came to this page it had less than 1,000 votes and a grand total of six people had bothered to comment on it which is a pity since it deserves to be better rememberedAt the core of the story is a love affair between a recently widowed librarian Marcella and a teenager called Cal who is a recent recruit to the IRA . Some people might claim this is an unlikely love affair but I think were to brutally about human sexuality men would confess to being sexually attracted towards older women while women are sexually attracted to younger men and it's only social conditioning that has stopped these type of love affairs becoming more common . It should also be pointed out this sets up the mystery of plot where the audience wonder who it was who pulled the trigger and murdered Marcella's husbandOne thing is unlikely and that is the way the IRA want to keep Cal in the organisation . In the early 1970s with internment and Bloody Sunday the IRA didn't find recruiting young men from Republican ghettos a problem . The problem started with new recruits having to plant bombs that often killed and mutilated innocent civilians both protestant and catholic and the recruits finding themselves wanting no part of this violence so they'd be released by the IRA . This was entirely down to practicalities - an unwilling volunteer in the IRA could be easily recruited by RUC special branch and MI5 as an informer The dialogue does suffer from blackly comical absurdity which is no doubt deliberate such as the robbing of a cinema " How'd it go ? " " What ? " " The f-ckin' picture did ya get the money ? " " Oh aye shaking in her hi heels . Whose side it this time ? I said ya think I'm working for the other side ya stupid b*tch " There's also the bizarre nature of an IRA gunman being a mod and committing acts of Republican terrorism while wearing patches dedicated to The Jam on his jacket . One can visualise him attending IRA meetings while wearing a parka emblazoned by Union flags with hilarious results All in all this is a very good drama featuring the Troubles as its backdrop . Some people might be put off down to the fact that there's little incident but that's to forget it's a human drama rather than a thriller and is intelligently written and superbly played by the cast which makes it possibly the best of the films featuring the Troubles

'Cal' deals with a subject that has been history for quite a long time by now: the violence in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Roman Catholics.Its plot is about a young Roman Catholic man who gets drawn in the terrorist IRA movement. He does not want that, but is too weak to resist. Of course, after having been involved in some violent acts, he cannot get out anymore. The tragedy is even more accentuated by a simultaneous love affair.This film just doesn't show any flaw. First of all, there is the magnificent acting of female lead Helen Mirren. Supported well by plenty of other good acting. The quality of the shooting. The bitter-sweet undertone of its tragic plot throughout its entire length. And, most of all, its setting against an Irish decor that was very actual in 1984.I happened to be in Dublin that year, and remember well the many sold-out performances of 'Cal' in the local cinema's. As well as the crowds of people queuing outside to get their tickets for the next show.

The film "Cal" is about a young boy who falls in love with Marcella, both Catholic. Cal "works" for the IRA, and he participated in the killing of Marcella's husband. Cal wants to get out of the IRA, but that's not too easy. Anyway, the whole story is really about the relationship between Cal and Marcella, a great Irish love story. A story with an Irish ending...