FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel. Five Minutes of Heaven — the phrase is Griffin’s description of how he’d feel avenging his brother’s death — isn’t a ballsy truth-bender like Inglourious Basterds. [14] It took $5,200 in box office receipts on its first weekend.[15]. And so runs the razor sharp dialog and acting and power of this little film from the UK that relates the story of a 1975 event in Northern Ireland when Catholics and Protestants were at war and the young Protestant Alistair Little (Mark David), as a UVF member (Ulster Volunteer Force), gathers his friends and 'kills a Catholic' - but the murder happens in front of the victim's 11-year-old brother Joe Griffen. He is carrying a knife and intends to murder his brother's killer during the meeting. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffen's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffen's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Written by: Guy Hibbert. The movie’s first section follows fact. [3] As a television film it was broadcast on BBC Two on 5 April 2009, and also had an international feature film release. Topic. Flash forward to 2008 when Alistair Little (now Liam Neeson) has served his prison term and is set up by the media to relate the story of the incident and supposedly meet and shake hands on camera with the now mature Joe Griffen. Five Minutes of Heaven - The story of former UVF member Alistair Little. To get more money for the film, independent production company Big Fish Films brought in other financial backers, including Northern Ireland Screen, and the film was eventually commissioned by Controller of BBC Two Roly Keating, and BBC Controller of Fiction Jane Tranter. The first part reconstructs the historical killing of 19-year-old Jim Griffin by 17-year-old Alistair Little in 1975, and the second part depicts a fictional meeting between Little and Griffin's brother Joe 33 years later. In 2008—thirty-three years after the murder and nineteen years after Little is released from prison—Little and Griffin have been set up to meet on camera by a reconciliation project. To face the future, they must face the past. The film was premiered on 19 January 2009 at the 25th Sundance Film Festival[2] where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award for Oliver Hirschbiegel, and the World Cinema Screenwriting Award for Guy Hibbert. In this 90-minute monologue, she describes the highs and lows of her career and life before setting off on a new life. The cinematography is dark and dank like the atmosphere in both the warring fog of 1975 and the attempt at reconciliation in 2008. Alistair is arrested and imprisoned for twelve years while Joe is blamed by his mother for not saving his brother. After 7 minutes, draw 2 more names and repeat! When they kill Griffin, his 8-year old little brother, Joe watches in horror. At that time, don't forget, there were riots on the streets, every week, petrol bombs every day and that was just in our town. This was also the first time that two of Northern Ireland's top actors, Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt, had starred in a film together. [5][6][7] Nesbitt met Griffin before filming began but Neeson decided to wait until after it had concluded before meeting Little; he said "I didn't want to see him before because I didn't want to be reminded of the physical differences between us and I didn't want to get that cluttered up in my head."[7][8]. As police close in and money dwindles, the desperate priest makes bad decisions. [4][5], Filming took place on location in Belfast, Dundonald, Lurgan, Glenarm and Newtownards for four weeks from May to June 2008. When a homeless man is accused of murdering a Justice Department file clerk, a public defender is tasked with mounting his legal defense. Five Minutes of Heaven. Grady Harp. Check out our editors' picks for the movies and shows we're excited about this month, like Mortal Kombat, "Them," and Stowaway. Winner of the World Cinema Directing and Screenwriting awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, the film stars Liam Neeson (SCHINDLER’S LIST, TAKEN), James Nesbitt (BLOODY SUNDAY ), and Anamaria Marinca (4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS & 2 DAYS) in a compelling human … I was 14 when I joined the Tartan Gangs and I was 15 when I joined the UVF, the Ulster Volunteer Force. the World Cinema Directing and Screenwriting awards at the 2009. From the Academy Award®-nominated director of DOWNFALL comes FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN, a thriller inspired by true events. Winner of the World Cinema Directing and Screenwriting awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, the film stars Liam Neeson (SCHINDLER’S LIST, TAKEN), James Nesbitt (BLOODY SUNDAY ), and Anamaria Marinca (4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS & 2 DAYS) in a compelling human … "[16] The film also won the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize. I watched the Oliver Hirschbiegel film, the 2009 Five Minutes of Heaven on Netflix DVD. From the Academy Award®-nominated director of DOWNFALL comes FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN, a thriller inspired by true events. Though Liam Neeson is billed as the star, the film belongs to the powerful acting by James Nesbitt as the vengeful Joe Griffen. Five Minutes of Heaven is similar to these films: Diana (film), Das Experiment, Downfall (2004 film) and more. Five Minutes of Heaven is a 2009 Irish film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel from a script by Guy Hibbert. In all, this is a moving film about truth and reconciliation that deserves the attention of us all, especially in this time of random acts of terrorism and their possible imprint on our minds and on society. Use the HTML below. It is a film about youthful involvement in terrorism and the sequelae that haunts or obsesses the victim's family and the perpetrator. Share. The wife of a photojournalist sets out to discover why he came home from a recent assignment without his colleague. Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. It stars Liam Neeson as Alistair Little, Mark Davison as the teenage Alistair Little, James Nesbitt as Joe Griffin and Gerard Jordan as James Griffin. [11] Pathé holds worldwide theatrical distribution rights. [20], peace has been agreed to in Northern Ireland, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Royal Television Society Programme Awards, "Five Minutes of Heaven (2009) Release Info", Hibbert criticises commissioners for wielding too much power, Liam Neeson interview - on his role in 'Five Minutes of Heaven', Neeson and Nesbitt: the real-life bravery behind our new Troubles drama, BBC Two Programmes: Five Minutes of Heaven, Five Minutes of Heaven Movie Review From The Sundance Film Festival, IFC takes US rights to drama Five Minutes Of Heaven, Winners of the 7th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards, The RTS Programme Awards 2009: The Winners, Television Craft Awards Nominations in 2010, The ex-UVF man Alistair Little: 'I'd have got on a bus and killed everyone', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Five_Minutes_of_Heaven&oldid=1003534811, Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland), Articles containing potentially dated statements from June 2020, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Guy Hibbert, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Eoin O'Callaghan, Stephen Wright, This page was last edited on 29 January 2021, at 13:21. 22 of 25 people found this review helpful. However, just before he is to go on camera, he becomes extremely agitated and demands that the cameras be removed. and feeds information to Britain's Special Branch Agent Fergus. The BBC-produced Five Minutes of Heaven is a drama in two parts. Thirty-three years later, a TV promotes the meeting of Alistair and Joe in a house in River Finn, expecting the truth and the reconciliation of the murderer and the victim who actually seeks five minutes of heaven. [13] The film opened at the Angelika Film Center in New York on 21 August 2009.