INDEPENDENCE DAY

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Roy Hersh
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INDEPENDENCE DAY

Post by Roy Hersh »

Every year on the 4th of July there are two things that take place in my life. One is that I watch fireworks with my family in the evening and secondly, I find a film which attests to the spirit of independence. My selection this year was IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER.

I saw this film when it was first released, based on a book written by Gerry Conlon, Proved Innocent, which was made into the film, In the Name of the Father, in 1993. It had been 15 years since I last saw the film; coincidentally the same amount of time Gerry Conlon had spent in prison, all the while the British government explicitly knew of, lied about and hid the truth of his innocence.

It was not until 2005, that then Prime Minister Tony Blair officially apologized to the individuals and families of the Guilford Four, accused and incarcerated wrongly of being involved in an IRA terrorist boming and murder of innocents at a pub in Guilford, England in 1974.

The movie version stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Gerry Conlon, Pete Postlethwaite (portrying Gerry's father Guiseppe) and a stellar performnce by Emma Thompson as their legal advocate, Gareth Peirce.

Full exoneration comes at a price as freedom never comes cheap and on this day, that applies to those who lost their lives in the Revolutionary War gaining America its independence from England; and the same can be said for the Conlon, Maguire, Hill and other innocents in the politically charged and fraudulent case brought about by England's justice system.

If you've never seen this film, DDL is as per usual, fantastic in his role as Gerry Conlon. This is a very fine film, a true story and inspiring on a day where the independent spirit is set free.
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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