Kneecap * * * ½

Focain caite amich iris

I can't say I'm really into Hiphop but like Straight Outa Compton, this is a fascinating true story about a real band who courted controversy because they had the audacity to kick back against an oppressor.

The spirit of the film is rather like the lads music and lifestyle: fast, shambolic, funny, risky, highly unlikely, but nevertheless a true story.

Set in Belfast North Ireland, a couple of lads have been taught the original language from the father of one of them, Arlo.  He's a revolutionary and is in hiding.  

After being arrested for graffitiing one night, one of the boys flatly refuses to speak English to the police and will talk only in Gaelic, so they have to call in an interpreter.  The interpreter is a high school teacher who is actually a big Hiphop fan.  He's even got his own small recording studio in his garage.  But he has to act with extreme caution as he could compromise his job. His wife is also working hard to restore the Gaelic language.

With his music and their lyrics, the lads and the teacher realise they could make something happen. 

For some reason the constabulary associate those who are pushing for the the restoration of Gaelic as being troublemakers. (They are actually, but with a good cause.) 

One of the lads develops a relationship with the chief of police's niece.  She's orange, he's green but they find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other.  Their politics often come out in bed which makes for some rather volatile "love making".

With lots of  high energy live shows and a thumping sound track, the whole thing is a bit of a lark and quite an education.  Interestingly a bigger threat than the police are a group of fellow republicans who don't like their obscene lyrics or their drug taking.

Michael Fassbender plays Arlo the Dad/Rebel on the run. He's got a bit of "Jesus" thing going, but the three members of Kneecap play themselves and they all do a very good job.