The General at the Harvard Film Archive

Beautifully shot in black and white, The General is an impeccably directed film by John Boorman. More stripped down than most of his other movies, Boorman's pacing from scene to scene and the way in which he frames the action couldn't be any better. The General follows Martin Cahill (Brendan Gleeson) from local thug to criminal genius. Cahill has a great irish sense of humor when it comes to his misdemeanors. Beneath his frivolous exterior, Cahill is a complicated man. When the police retaliates and kills all of his pigeons, he tells his son to smile, to not show any weakness. For the most part, Cahill tries to present as a man with abundant strength. Hiding behind his hands or a big hood, Cahill can't bring himself to face his accusers. Boorman was in attendance for the screening. He was presented with a life time achievement award and took part in a question and answer. Typical of most Q&As, the questions were fairly asinine. For the most part, Boorman was pretty abrupt, answering questions with little interest. Overall though, the movie was great and it was exciting to get a glimpse at one of the most unique living filmmakers.